Singrauli: In a significant development in the daring April 17 daylight robbery at the Bank of Maharashtra branch in Singrauli, police conducted coordinated raids on prisons in Odisha and Bihar on Tuesday, uncovering evidence of an interstate criminal network involved in the heist.
The armed gang of five masked men had decamped with 9-10 kg of gold and Rs 20 lakh in cash, a loot estimated to be worth around Rs 15 crore, in a swift 15-20 minute operation during which they held staff and customers hostage, and fired shots to intimidate.
Acting on leads from the interrogation of two recently arrested accused from Bihar — Chandan alias Chaiya Yadav (21) and Gulshan (19) — who are currently on seven-day police remand, Singrauli police zeroed in on prison connections. The duo reportedly revealed that they had delivered cash and materials from the main accused to a gang member lodged in Kuchinda sub-jail in Odisha’s Sambalpur district.
Early morning raids were carried out with local assistance. In Kuchinda sub-jail, authorities recovered Rss 25,896 in cash from the bedding of inmate Piyush Jaiswal, along with a small mobile phone and incriminating documents. Simultaneously, a team raided Beur jail in Patna, Bihar, where alleged key figure Subodh Singh is lodged, seizing documents linked to the conspiracy.
Singrauli SP Manish Khatri confirmed the breakthroughs, stating that the arrested youths transported cash and materials to the lodged associate in Kuchinda jail. “This is an interstate gang,” he told TOI, highlighting Subodh Singh’s prior involvement in similar cases.
Police described the robbery as orchestrated through a sophisticated prison-to-outside network managing logistics, communication, and the disposal of the looted gold.
The main accused, identified as Fantoosh, remains absconding, with teams actively pursuing him across states. Other accused have been named in earlier stages of the probe, including links to individuals from Bihar and Jharkhand, with some reports suggesting broader coordination possibly involving cross-border elements like Nepal-based handlers via internet calls.
Investigations had revealed that the gang conducted reconnaissance for about a month before executing the high-profile heist. With fresh evidence from the jail raids, police are intensifying efforts to unravel the full conspiracy, track remaining members, and recover the loot.
