Odisha Bank Robbery Suspects Arrested in Dhanbad: Gold, Vehicles Recovered

Dhanbad: Two interstate armed miscreants accused in the January 19 Odisha bank robbery case have been arrested from Nirsa and Sindri blocks in Dhanbad district by Odisha Police and Jharkhand Police.A part of the looted gold and vehicles used in the crime were recovered, police said on Saturday.Armed criminals had barged into the Bank of Maharashtra branch located at Barbil in Keonjhar district of Odisha on January 19 and decamped with around 5 to 6 kg of gold, the total value of which was estimated to be over Rs 5 crore. A case was registered at the Barbil police station.A special team led by the Keonjhar additional superintendent of police (ASP), Pratyush Mohapatra, traced the criminals’ link to Dhanbad.The Odisha Police team reached Dhanbad and, with the assistance of the local police, conducted coordinated raids at multiple locations in Nirsa and Sindri blocks.SP (City) Rithvik Srivastava said, “Two accused — Raja Kumar Singh, a native of Jamui district in Bihar residing at Chasnala in Sindri, and Kunal Raj Verma, a resident of Nirsa — were arrested.”“A total of 288 gm of looted gold, two SUVs and four mobile phones used in the execution of the crime were recovered. Raids are under way to arrest the remaining accused and recover the rest of the looted gold,” the SP added.Keonjhar ASP said, “The robbery, executed at gunpoint, was one of the biggest bank robbery incidents in the region.”