Police have arrested seven people involved in the robbery of a Nepal SBI Bank branch located in Ghyanglekh Rural Municipality. The District Police Office made the arrests public during a press conference held on Friday.
According to Superintendent of Police Laldhwaj Subedi, the robbery took place on the evening of Poush 29 at around 7:30 pm. Seven suspects have been arrested in connection with the incident, while one individual remains at large.
Those arrested include 49-year-old Bhagwat Singh Thapa, a Sumo driver from Banepa Municipality-10, Kavrepalanchok; 47-year-old Chaturman Bajyu of Ghyanglekh Rural Municipality-2, Sindhuli; 24-year-old Shashank Shrestha from Bharatpur Metropolitan City-2, Chitwan; 23-year-old Milan Giri and 19-year-old Bibek Magar of Panchkanya Rural Municipality-5, Nuwakot; 44-year-old Chhabilal Syangtan of Ghyanglekh Rural Municipality-2, Sindhuli; and one minor.
On the evening of the incident, the suspects held bank security guard Rudra Bahadur Karki and bank staff hostage before carrying out the robbery. The guard was attacked with a khukuri and sustained minor injuries. The assailants then entered the bank, looted cash, and fled the scene.
During the investigation, police found a Tata Sumo (registration number Ba 1 Ja 0398) about two kilometers east of the crime scene at Lipikhola, along with its driver, Bhagwat Singh Thapa. During preliminary questioning, Thapa said that six unknown individuals had hired the vehicle from Banepa earlier that day under the pretext of attending a wedding. Based on the description provided by the driver, police intensified the search and arrested the suspects.
According to the Nepal SBI Bank Ghyanglekh branch, a total of NPR 30.7 million was looted during the robbery. Police have recovered NPR 26,855,175 so far. The suspects are being investigated under charges related to theft and robbery, with a five-day remand granted for further investigation.
Police also recovered two khukuris, one plastic pistol, five mobile phones, one large roll of tape, three black masks, one red mask, and a pair of black gloves used in the crime.
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