A brazen daylight robbery at a Bank of Maharashtra branch in Singrauli’s Baidhan area left the region reeling, as five armed and masked men made off with gold and cash worth over Rs 15 crore. The heist, which unfolded on Friday, has sparked widespread panic and prompted a high-stakes manhunt across multiple states.
With two suspects already in custody, authorities are closing in on the remaining fugitives, marking a preliminary victory in what could become a landmark case of financial crime in the state of Madhya Pradesh.
Daring bank raid: How the Rs 15 crore loot unfolded?
The robbers struck like lightning on Friday afternoon, catching bank staff and locals off guard. Five masked intruders, armed and audacious, stormed into the Bank of Maharashtra branch in Baidhan, a quiet area in Singrauli district of MP. They swiftly overpowered those inside, targeting the vaults to seize approximately 10 kilograms of gold- valued at over Rs 15 crore combined with the cash haul- and around Rs 35 lakh in currency notes.
The total loot amounted to an staggering Rs 15.35 crore, making this one of the largest bank robberies in recent Madhya Pradesh history.
As per ANI report, eyewitness accounts describe chaos as the robbers executed their plan with military precision, fleeing the scene before reinforcements could arrive. The bank’s location near the borders of Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar likely aided their initial escape, allowing them to vanish into interstate networks.
No injuries were reported, but the sheer scale of the theft- equivalent to years of savings for many- triggered immediate alarm, drawing state-level attention and panic across Singrauli.
Swift police response: Two accused detained within 24 hours
Singrauli Superintendent of Police (SP) Manish Khatri mobilised rapidly, forming 10 special teams under the oversight of Rewa Zone Special Director General Anil Kumar and IG Gaurav Rajput. Leveraging CCTV footage from the bank and surrounding areas, investigators identified all five suspects in record time. “We have achieved a preliminary breakthrough,” Khatri told news agency ANI, noting deployments across states to hunt the rest.
The first arrest came with help from Bihar Railway Police, who rounded up one accused mid-flight. A second suspect was detained shortly after in Bihar, showcasing seamless inter-state coordination.
Minister Sampatiya Uikey, who visited the district headquarters on Saturday, praised the “swift and sensitive response,” confirming all five identities and expressing confidence in full arrests soon. Her directives emphasized preventing future breaches in this vulnerable border zone.
With two robbers in custody and three at large, police operations span Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and beyond, fuelled by camera evidence and intelligence leads. Uikey stressed ongoing discussions with local administration to fortify security, highlighting the robbery’s role in exposing gaps at interstate fringes. As investigations deepen, questions swirl about the gang’s planning-possibly involving insiders-and the gold’s black-market trail.