18-minute bank heist in MP; robbers flee with ₹14 crore in gold

Jabalpur: In a daring broad daylight heist, five robbers wearing helmets made off with 14.8 kg of gold worth over ₹14 crore and ₹5 lakh in cash from a small finance bank branch in Jabalpur district in Madhya Pradesh on Monday, police said.

The robbery took place at the bank's Khitola branch shortly after it opened for business. Notably, there was no security guard present at the time of the incident, police added.

The robbers looted 14.875 kg of gold kept in the locker and ₹5 lakh cash from the bank's branch in Sehore tehsil, located about 50 km from the district headquarters, Jabalpur rural area additional superintendent of police Suryakant Sharma told reporters.

The heist took just 18 minutes, Jabalpur Range Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) Atul Singh said, adding the robbers came on two motorcycles and entered the branch of ESAF Small Finance Bank wearing helmets.

"The bank branch did not have a security guard. There were six staffers at the time of the incident. The robbers entered the branch at 8.50 am and came out at 9.08 am. They fled on motorcycles. We have scanned CCTV cameras. They did not have weapons in their hands. One of the robbers had a firearm tucked under his belt," Singh said.

The bank staffers notified police 45 minutes after the incident, following discussions with superior officials, the DIG said. "Had they informed us in time, the robbers would have been caught. Efforts were on to nab the accused," Singh added.

The bank started its day at 8 am instead of its usual opening time of 10.30 am due to the ongoing festive season.