Robbers loot Tk 21 lakh from Jessore Agrani Bank

Robbers stole over Tk 21 lakh from a branch of state-owned Agrani Bank in Jessore Sadar upazila early yesterday, police said.

Shikdar Akkas Ali, officer-in-charge of Kotwali Police Station, said the robbery took place at Rajarhat branch around 3:30am.

He said the criminals cut one of the windows of the bank using a blowtorch and attacked two Ansar guards -- Biswajit and Shahidul Islam -- inside.

They tied the guards with rope and cut the vault in the same manner. Later, the robbers fled with the money, said the police official.  

"None is arrested but we have detained Biswajit and Shahidul for interrogation," he added.

Mahmud, sub-inspector of the police station, said the closed-circuit cameras inside the bank were broken. They seized a piece of rope and two gas cylinders at the scene, believed to have been used in the robbery.

A double-barrel gun was at the bank but the criminals did not take it.

Among the Ansar members, Biswajit had a mark of injury on his chest, added the police official.

Branch Manager Narayan Chandra Pal said Tk 2,108,000 was missing from the bank.

Wadud Ali Munshi, deputy general manager of Agrani Bank (Jessore region), said they had informed the matter to their higher authorities and started their own investigation.

The Ansar members reportedly told local journalists that the criminals had held them at gunpoint during the robbery. They had heard voices of other "robbers" standing outside.

Kawsar Ali, owner of a building near the bank branch, said one of his tenants called him over the phone early yesterday, hearing noise nearby. Kawsar felt suspicious and called police immediately.

Later, police rushed to the spot and saw the guards who were tied up, he added.

Visiting the scene, Anisur Rahman, superintendent of police in Jessore, said the robbery was pre-planned, and police along with other law enforcement agencies were investigating the incident.