Rs 35 lakh looted from Uco Bank in Rourkela

Six armed robbers, posing as customers, looted Rs 35 lakh from the Main Road branch of Uco Bank in Rourkela. The robbery occurred in the broad day light at 10 AM. No one dared to resist and very few knew what happened until a police party arrived 30 minutes after the looters fled with the cash.

Before the leaving the branch, the robbers took all people present inside the bank to a toilet and locked them from outside. They also snatched two mobile phones from bank employees. The police has launched a massive manhunt to nab the robbers.

Significantly, there was a similar incident in the same branch in 2001, when the looters took Rs 12 lakh. However, later the police recovered Rs 9 lakh. It is surprising that the bank authorities did not take cue from that incident to appoint a security guard or install an alarm device.