Lucknow bank heist: 3 held, 4 flee with crores

Lucknow: A meticulously planned heist at the Indian Overseas Bank in the Chinhat area on Sunday has left the police scrambling after robbers escaped with valuables worth several crores. While three members of the gang were apprehended following an early morning gunfight, four others remain at large, evading capture despite police efforts.

The robbery, carried out around 4 am, targeted the bank’s strong room, where the gang made off with cash and jewellery. Their meticulous planning was evident as they disabled the bank’s alarm system and exploited glaring security lapses. Acting on intelligence, the police set up a checkpoint near Laulai’s water bridge to intercept the suspects. Two cars approached the checkpoint, and when flagged down by officers, the occupants opened fire. A retaliatory exchange of bullets ensued, leaving one suspect, Arvind Kumar of Bihar’s Munger district, injured with a bullet wound to the leg.

Two other suspects, Balrampur Kumar and Kailash Bind, were also apprehended during the operation. The police recovered Rs 3 lakh in cash, gold and silver jewellery, a country-made pistol, and spent cartridges from the trio. However, four accomplices managed to escape under the cover of darkness, and a search is underway to locate them.

Preliminary investigations revealed a lack of security measures at the bank. DCP East Shashank Singh confirmed that the robbers had mapped out the strong room’s location and identified vulnerable access points. “Their execution indicates a high level of preparation. They chose Saturday night knowing the bank would be closed on Sunday, giving them a significant window to escape before the crime was discovered,” Singh said.