Bank loot worked out, three youths held with Rs 6.82 lakh

Varanasi, June 25 (UNI) Police claimed to have worked out a recent bank loot in neighbouring Mirzapur district with the arrest of three unemployed youths near the Sampurnanand Sanskrit University (SSU) here this morning alongwith the looted cash.

Senior Police Superintendent Ashutosh Pandey told newspersons here that Anurag Mishra, his cousin Nagendra Mishra and Vindhyavasini Dubey alias Pintu, were held following a brief encounter near the SSU and Rs 6.82 lakh out of Rs seven lakh looted was recovered from them. The motor cycle used in the crime, three countrymade pistols, live cartridges, looted mobile phones were also seized from the arrested trio.

The SSP further said that all three youths belonged to affluent families of Varanasi and Mirzapur, with Anurag, a science graduate, being the son of a Panchayati Raj Adhikari in the Pindra block of Varanasi.

Mr Pandey said that the three youths, after failing to get good jobs, plotted looting a bank in Mirzapur district to finance their ambition of starting a travel business in Mumbai. For this, two banks -- Bank of Baroda (Kachwa branch) and Regional Rural Bank (Mahamalpur branch)-- were identified, but the youths opted for the former.

The three youths first lifted a motor cycle from the Kapsethi area of Varanasi and then used the same for looting the bank at gunpoint on June 20 last. The trio also looted two mobile phones from the bank, the SSP added.

Following electronic surveillance, the three youths were nabbed by a joint team of Varanasi and Mirzapur police.

Cases have been registered and further investigations were on.

UNI ARS MB VD BD1601