Patna: Patna police are investigating an armed robbery attempt on employees of Kalyan Jewellers in the city’s Krishnapuri area on Monday, in which three assailants fled after failing to seize Rs 18.5 lakh in cash.
According to witnesses, the robbers, who were armed with a pistol, followed the staff’s Bolero and confronted them as soon as they got out of the vehicle to deposit the money in a nearby bank. A scuffle broke out on the staircase leading to the bank and spilled onto the road, with the jewellers’ employees shouting for help for nearly two minutes. The attackers fired shots during the altercation but no one was injured.
Bystanders said they were too shocked or frightened to intervene. “My heart was pounding when I saw the weapon,” a kiosk owner recalled. “I couldn’t do anything.” Another eyewitness, Sameer Prasad, praised the employees’ composure, saying: “They showed great courage despite being threatened.”
The robbers managed to escape before police arrived. This is the second incident in recent months in the Krishnapuri area in which gunmen have fled after firing shots. In a previous case near Pant Bhawan on Boring Canal Road, senior officer ADG Pankaj Darad chased the culprits for some distance but they evaded capture.
