Imphal: In a third bank robbery this year in Manipur, miscreants looted cash amounting to several lakhs from a UCO Bank branch Wednesday, raising concerns about the security measures in place in the strife-torn northeast state.
Though a statement is awaited, sources said the looted cash from the Kakching Khongnang Mari Phangba branch was estimated to be around Rs 6.5 lakh or more. Kakching lies in the southern part of the Imphal valley.
At a time when the Manipur Police have implemented special measures to tackle rising extortion—even arresting individuals including active members of insurgent groups—the bank robbery has called to question the prevailing law and order situation.
The daylight robbery in Kakching was captured on CCTV cameras, the footage of which, timestamped at 3:04 pm, was widely circulated on social media. The footage showed a masked man in black clothes and a cap, leading a security guard or bank personnel by the shoulder, and attempting to exert control or threaten him.
The footage also showed that the incident took place in the presence of other customers and bank staff, some of whom were seated or standing at the counters during the robbery, seemingly oblivious of the heist unfolding.
Senior police officers, including Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) Range II Jogeshchandra Haobijam and Superintendent of Police (SP) Kakching Th Vikramjit, visited the crime scene and launched an investigation.
This incident follows a couple of other major heists in the state that is reeling from the effects of an ethnic conflict since May last year. Last month, four bank employees were arrested for their alleged involvement in the theft of gold worth approximately Rs 4 crore from a Bank of Baroda branch at the Manipur University campus in Imphal.
Preliminary investigation revealed that the gold was looted between 12 and 13 September, but the theft wasn’t reported until 17 September, when a cashier tried to access the vault after curfew was lifted. Another daylight heist took place on 4 May when five armed men looted a State Bank of India (SBI) branch at Salbung in Churachandpur district.
In December last year, the Punjab National Bank branch in Ukhrul district reported a robbery in which ten armed men looted approximately Rs 18.85 crore from the branch. The police and district authorities have urged the public to remain alert even as investigations into these incidents continue.
(Edited by Tikli Basu)