Criminals loot Rs 48 lakh from Chakia ICICI Bank in Bihar

MOTIHARI: Close on the heels of three loot incidents in East Champaran district on Tuesday, a gang of five unidentified armed motorcycle-borne criminals looted Rs48 lakh from the Chakia branch of ICICI Bank at gunpoint on Wednesday and escaped towards Chakiya market.
East Champaran SP Kantesh Kumar Mishra reached the branch with other police officers and gathered information from the bank officers and employees. This branch is located on Kuawa road in Chakiya town.
Kamlesh Kumar Chaudhary, the Chakia branch manager of ICICI Bank, in his statement to the police said 5 masked criminals with arms entered the bank and took him, the employees and bank customers hostage at gunpoint. They looted Rs40 lakh from the counter and also looted cash from customers.
Sarita Devi, a woman customer, said the criminals also looted the golden ornaments from women customers before leaving the bank. They also threatened the customers to kill them if they resisted.
The SP said raids were being conducted to nab the criminals. The police are also examining the footage of CCTV cameras installed in the bank branch and other establishments nearby.
More than a dozen customers said the criminals from neighbouring districts like Muzaffarpur and Gopalganj were carrying out loot incidents in the district with impunity.