Jharkhand bank robbery cracked, interstate gang’s alleged kingpin held in Varanasi

An FIR was lodged at Barhi police station under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and Arms Act following the incident.

In a joint operation by the Uttar Pradesh Special Task Force (STF) and Jharkhand Police in Varanasi, three alleged members of an interstate gang were arrested near Singhpur under Sarnath police station limits. The suspects were identified as Mohammad Afzal of Nawada, Bihar (alleged gang leader), Pankaj Singh alias Raunak Singh of Gorakhpur, and Saurabh Yadav alias Sonu of Mau. Authorities recovered 912.22 grams of gold, ₹20 lakh in cash, six mobile phones, and an SUV allegedly used in the crime. Investigators said the gang had planned the robbery for several weeks after surveying bank branches across Jharkhand and Bihar and targeted gold stored in lockers, carrying out surveillance for 1-2 months using stolen vehicles and illegal firearms. The group is suspected of involvement in several bank and gold loan robberies in West Bengal, Bihar and Uttarakhand. Efforts are underway to trace other members linked to logistics and weapons supply.

Around 3 pm, armed assailants entered the Bank of Maharashtra branch in Barhi, Hazaribagh district, Jharkhand, overpowered staff and looted nearly 4 kg of gold ornaments along with ₹4.22 lakh in cash. Some attackers entered as customers and engaged employees in conversation; others with firearms assaulted a staff member and forced employees to gather near the cash counter. Employees' mobile phones were seized to prevent alarms, the bank’s alarm system was cut, and a staff member was forced to open the strong room before the robbers escaped with cash and gold stored in lockers.