Fake dacoity: Two Bandhan Bank staff held

Police on Sunday cracked a dacoity case with the arrest of three persons, including two bank employees, who allegedly orchestrated the crime plot, in Mayurbhanj district.

Mayurbhanj SP Awinash Kumar informed mediapersons about the fake incident of dacoity that occurred on April 5.

“The two Bandhan Bank employees identified as Sitaram Sahu and Bhajan Kar along with an accomplice had devised the plan to loot Rs 3.40 lakh. Investigation revealed that the bank employees faked the loot incident. The money has been recovered from them,” the SP said.

Sitaram Sahu had on April 5 reported at the Badasahi police station that four unidentified miscreants had looted Rs 3.40 lakh from them while he and Bhajan Kar were on their way to Betnoti from Baripada. The incident took place at around 2.30 pm, he stated.

As per Sahu, who was working as Doorstep Banking Officer at Bandhan Bank’s Manatri branch, four motorcycle-borne miscreants waylaid him and Bhajan Kar, Manager of the same branch, at Durgapur Chhak and decamped with the money. They were carrying the cash in a bag to the Bandhan Bank’s Manatri branch, Sahu reported to the police at around 8 pm on that day.

The bank employees’ mobile phone calls were tracked by police leading to revelation of involvement of the bank employees and one Braja Sekhar Pradhan. The money and a mobile phone were passed on to Pradhan by the bank employees. Kar had thrown his mobile phone into a river obviously to erase evidence.

The arrested trio has been charged under Section 420, 120 (B), 182, 177, 409 and 201 of IPC.