Armed Robbers Loot Over Rs 6 Crore Worth Of Gold, Cash From Bank In Jharkhand

In a daring daylight heist, four armed criminals looted over Rs 6 crore worth of gold and cash from a Bank of Maharashtra branch in Jharkhand’s Hazaribag district on Friday, police said.

The robbery took place around 3.10 pm at the bank’s Barhi branch , which falls under the Barhi police station limits . According to officials, the assailants struck during lunchtime , when the bank premises were relatively empty.

Police said two of the suspects initially entered the branch on the pretext of opening a bank account , before their accomplices joined them. The group then brandished firearms, took the bank manager and four staff members hostage , and forced them at gunpoint to open the iron chest and strong room .

The criminals decamped with around 3 kg of gold ornaments pledged by customers against loans , along with Rs 4 lakh in cash kept at the branch. During the robbery, some employees were reportedly assaulted by the attackers when they resisted.

Officials said there were no customers present inside the bank at the time of the incident , allowing the criminals to carry out the operation swiftly. The entire heist is believed to have lasted around 15–20 minutes .

After collecting the valuables, the robbers reportedly locked the bank premises from outside to delay any immediate response and fled the spot.

Initial police estimates put the value of the stolen gold at around Rs 5 crore , but subsequent assessments and reports suggested the total value of the looted jewellery could exceed Rs 6 crore .

Following the incident, Hazaribag Superintendent of Police Aman Kumar and other senior officers rushed to the scene. Police have constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT) , launched a large-scale manhunt , and begun examining CCTV footage and possible escape routes to identify the culprits.