As many as five men broke into a branch of the Manappuram Gold Loans firm at Brahma Road in Ambikapur
A gang of armed robbers made away with around 12.8 kg gold worth around Rs 3 crore and 1.30 lakh cash from a gold loan firm in Chhattisgarh's Surguja district, police said on Thursday.
As many as five masked men broke into a branch of the Manappuram Gold Loans firm at Brahma Road in Ambikapur town- the district headquarters last evening and decamped with the gold and cash, Surguja Additional Superintendent of Police Ramkrishna Sahu said.
Ambikapur is located around 400 kms away from Raipur in the northern part of the state.
According to the ASP, the robbers struck at around 4.30 pm and locked the main gate after which they held four employees and as many customers hostage and looted 12.8 kg of gold worth around Rs 3 crore and Rs 1.30 lakh in cash at gun-point.
Soon after getting information, a police team rushed to the spot and freed the persons who were locked inside the office, he said.
The robbers also took away with them the CCTV camera as well as its footage of the finance firm before fleeing the crime scene.
However, footage of CCTV cameras installed in nearby shops was being examined, he said.
A case has been registered in this connection, the ASP said adding that efforts are on to trace the robbers.
Meanwhile, an alert has been sounded in the area while police have stepped up vigil as well as checking of suspected vehicles and persons at the bordering places (as the district shares a porous border with Uttar Pradesh and Jharkhand states), the ASP said.