Sindhuli: Police have arrested four people in connection with a late-night armed robbery at a Nepal SBI Bank branch in Bastipur, Hayutar, in Ghyanglekh Rural Municipality-2 of Sindhuli district.
According to Sindhuli Police Chief Superintendent Lal Dhwaj Subedi, the suspects were caught in the Sukachuri area of Ghyanglekh-1 with the help of local residents.
The robbery took place around 8:40 pm on Tuesday, when a group of five to six assailants stormed the bank. The attackers beat and slashed security guard Rudra Karki with a machete, leaving him seriously injured before restraining him and emptying the cash counter. They made off with 31.95 million rupees in cash. Karki is currently receiving treatment at a local hospital.
Police have so far recovered 18.10 million rupees. The cash was found dumped in a forest about one and a half kilometres from the crime scene. Investigators are still trying to determine whether the remaining amount was carried away by the robbers or hidden elsewhere.
Authorities have also seized a Tata Sumo vehicle with registration number BAD-0398, which was used in the getaway, along with its driver, Bhawat Singh Thapa. Police said the suspects had hired the vehicle from Banepa in Kavre district to travel to Sindhuli. Thapa, who is from Banepa-10, has claimed he did not know the people he was transporting were planning a robbery.
Because the bank is located close to a forest and the crime happened after dark, the robbers found it easier to flee the scene, police said, citing preliminary findings. Investigations are continuing against those already in custody, while a manhunt is underway for the remaining suspects who are still at large.
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