6 armed men, bags full of jewellery, a high-speed chase and a shootout: Inside Rs 25-crore heist in Bihar’s Ara

Store manager Kumar Mritunjay said the incident started at around 10.30 am. “The robbers took almost everything that was on display at the store,” he said.

Manoj Thakur, the security guard at the store, said staff thought the men were customers when they entered. “According to our policy, large numbers of people are not allowed to come inside at the same time, so they entered in pairs. When the sixth man came in, he pointed a pistol at my head and assaulted me. They also snatched my rifle.”

Once inside, the robbers locked the shutters and proceeded to ransack the showroom for approximately half an hour, staff said. The members of staff inside the showroom were held hostage while the suspects filled large bags with gold, silver, and diamond jewellery from display cases on both floors of the store.

“They also assaulted two of our staff,” the store manager said.

Simran, a salesperson at the showroom, said, “We immediately sensed something was off when they entered. They started lining us up. We tried to hide and called the police… but help did not arrive in time.”

According to store manager Mritunjay, the robbers also confiscated everyone’s phone. Apart from the jewellery worth Rs 25 crore, cash was also allegedly taken. “The stolen cash amount is still being assessed,” Mritunjay said.

Bhojpur (Ara) Superintendent of Police Raj said a special investigation team (SIT) has been formed, led by Assistant Superintendent of Police Parichay Kumar, to look into the case. He said roadblocks have been set up at various locations in an effort to intercept the fleeing suspects.

According to police, after the robbery, the suspects were found speeding on three motorbikes from the Ara-Babura area towards Doriganj.

“They were signalled to stop, but they started going even faster. A patrol vehicle attempted to stop them, and a chase ensued. After some distance, the criminals abandoned their motorcycle and fled on foot while firing at the police. Police officers fired back in self-defence, hitting the legs of two of the fleeing criminals,” the SP said.

The two men, identified as Vishal Gupta from Dighwara in Saran and Kunal Kumar from Semra in Sonpur, were taken into custody and are currently receiving medical treatment for their injuries, SP Raj said.

Two pistols, 10 cartridges, and two bags filled with stolen jewellery were recovered from them, according to police.