Dacoits flee with 30kg gold from finance firm

Kolkata: A gang of four armed dacoits looted around 30-kg gold ornaments from the office of a private financial services company that offers gold loan, on the BT Road around around 10am on Friday. As soon as the Dunlop Bridge branch office of Manappuram Finance Ltd. opened, three people wearing helmets and another with his face covered stormed it brandishing firearms.

Overpowering the two security guards at the entrance, they held the employees at gunpoint and thrashed the branch manager, Manoj Swarnakar, and snatched the keys of the vaults from him. In 15 minutes, the accused looted the gold and fled leaving their cellphones on the spot. Later, a complaint was lodged with the Barangar police station, and the detective department officers of the Barrackpore police commissionerate inspected the spot.

A criminal investigation department team also visited the office later and launched a probe. A preliminary probe revealed that three among the four accused were conversing in Hindi while another was talking in Bengali. The investigators detained two persons for questionning. They are also examining the CCTV footage and the abandoned cellphones.

The company issued a statement, saying, “The management of Manappuram Finance Ltd. assures the interest of our customers and security of their gold jewellery is our first priority. We confirm the gold jewellery kept in the branch is fully insured and that the affected customers will not be put to any loss on this account.”

According to the statement, “The firm’s Dunlop Bridge branch was targeted by a gang of armed robbers who overpowered the security guards on duty and assaulted the branch manager before fleeing with the gold. The company promptly alerted the police and all necessary information, including CCTV footage, is shared with them. The company uses a combination of security guards and a rapid action team to secure the premises, and has an advanced centrally monitored security systems in place across all our branches.”

The firm added, “We are confident that the police will be successful in nabbing the culprits at the earliest and we will extend full cooperation.”