₹36 Crore Bank Heist in Jharkhand: Masked Gang Loots 23 kg Gold...
In one of the largest bank robberies in Jharkhand's history, five armed criminals stormed a Canara Bank branch in Jamshedpur on Thursday morning and...
By GT24x7 Reporter··GlobalToday24x7
In what law enforcement officials describe as the largest financial institution heist in Jharkhand's criminal history, five armed assailants stormed the Golmuri Market branch of Canara Bank in Jamshedpur on Thursday morning, September 24, 2026. Taking advantage of heavy early-morning rainfall, the gang subdued the bank personnel and extracted approximately 23.8 kilograms of pledged gold ornaments—valued at over ₹33 to ₹36 crore—alongside ₹43 lakh in cash.
The entire operation was executed between 9:20 AM and 9:44 AM, lasting roughly 24 minutes. Following the crime, senior police officers cordoned off the premises and instituted a high-level Special Investigation Team (SIT) to trace the perpetrators.
Modus Operandi and Subjugation of Bank Personnel
According to preliminary investigative details and eyewitness accounts, the robbers arrived at the bank shortly after it opened, disguising themselves under heavy raincoats and caps to mask their identities. Upon entering the facility as cleaning staff were preparing the office, the suspects confronted the bank's security guard, Santosh Kumar. When the guard attempted to intervene, he was struck on the head with a pistol butt, sustaining severe injuries before being restrained.
The gang subsequently bound the hands and feet of six staff members and three early-arriving customers using adhesive tape. Holding Branch Manager Ajit Kumar at gunpoint, the robbers forced him to open the main currency chest and the gold loan safe. The criminals systematically swept approximately 600 sealed packets containing pledged customer jewelry into backpacks alongside loose currency notes from the vault. Crucially, the assailants bypassed individual customer deposit lockers, indicating a targeted focus on high-value pledged gold reserves.
Inter-State Interception Drive and Police Investigation
Immediately following the gang's exit, bank staff managed to raise the alarm, prompting a rapid mobilization by local law enforcement. Senior police commanders, including Rural SP Shubham Khandelwal and City DSP Sanjeev Kumar, inspected the crime scene along with forensic units and dog squads. Investigators retrieved closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage capturing the suspects fleeing the scene on two separate motorcycles toward different arterial escape routes.
The Jharkhand Police Director General of Police (DGP) Tadasha Mishra confirmed that a 20-member SIT, headed by the City SP and comprising nine DSPs and 200 personnel, has been deployed to conduct raids across suspected hideouts. Authorities have sealed district borders and coordinated with neighboring state police units in Bihar and West Bengal, suspecting the involvement of organized inter-state bank robbery syndicates.
Customer Concerns and Institutional Liability
The scale of the robbery triggered distress among local account holders and borrowers who had pledged gold jewelry for agricultural and personal loans at the branch. Dozens of anxious depositors gathered outside the Golmuri branch seeking assurances regarding the recovery or compensation for their pledged assets.
Bank officials assured account holders that all pledged assets are covered under standard institutional insurance protocols and that verification processes using bank records are underway to reconcile the exact quantity of lost bullion. Under established Reserve Bank of India (RBI) guidelines and consumer precedent, commercial banks maintain financial liability for pledged collateral held in their custody, subject to formal verification following police recovery procedures.