Patna, April 12: The modus operandi behind major bank robberies in Bihar is chalked out from behind the bars, courtesy the latest technology — cellphones that help the incarcerated ganglords remain in constant touch with their associates outside.

Mobiles have proved to be a major chink in the security paraphernalia, hoodwinking which the notorious criminals continue to operate even from within the four walls of the prison. All attempts to disconnect the incarcerated leaders of the gangs involved in organised crime from the outside world have proved futile.

Madhav Ravidas, the leader of an interstate gang of bank robbers lodged in Jharkhand’s Dhanbad divisional jail, has been charged with plotting a major bank dacoity in Rohtas on March 16. The criminals looted Rs 62 lakh from the Bank of Baroda’s Nokha branch.

Rohtas superintendent of police (SP) Manu Maharaj told The Telegraph that the police investigation hinted at the involvement of Ravidas, a resident of Gaya district, in the robbery, which caught the state police unawares. A special police team headed by the SP was constituted to crack the case. The state police headquarters ordered the deputy inspector-general of police, Shahbad range, Sushil Khopde, to monitor the operation. “The gang led by Ravidas, who is at present lodged in the Dhanbad jail, has spread its network across Bihar, Jharkhand, Haryana, Bengal and Uttar Pradesh,” he said.

Sharing details of the operation, Maharaj said five members of the gang were arrested recently and Rs 3.5 lakh apart from a huge cache of weapons were seized from their possession. The raids were mainly carried out in areas falling under Mufassil police station of the district, he added.

In the course of interrogation, Nasimuddin, a close accomplice of Ravidas and a resident of Fatehpur under Belaganj police station in Gaya district, disclosed that the robbery plan at Nokha was hatched inside Dhanbad divisional jail. “We were in urgent need of money to set the ganglord free from the jail,” he added.

The arrested members of the gang have been identified as Rajesh, alias Pankaj, Nasimuddin, Lalan Ram, Ajay Das (all residents of Gaya), Islam Ansari (Giridih, Jharkhand) and Shahabuddin (Haryana).

On the fateful day, the gang members arrived at the bank on three motorcycles. They were armed with lethal weapons, including carbine and 9mm pistols. They first attacked the security guard before holding the bank employees captive at gunpoint.

The operation lasted for 10-15 minutes. According to the plan, they escaped on a truck with the looted money to avoid detection. The police said the arrested criminals admitted their involvement in eight other major bank dacoities, including the latest one committed at State Bank of India in Giridih, Jharkhand in February this year. The criminals had looted Rs 25.69 lakh from the bank, the SP said.

Moreover, they admitted to have robbed Union Bank at Baliapur in Dhanbad in 2010 (Rs 6 lakh), Punjab National Bank at Purulia in Bengal in 2008 (Rs 84 lakh), Dena Bank at Durgapur in Bengal in 2007 (Rs 13 lakh), Uco Bank at Chandanpur in Bengal in 2007 (Rs 6 lakh), United Bank of India at Serampore in Bengal in 2006 and Bank of India at Baladih in Bokaro (Rs 12 lakh).

Station house officer of Sasaram town police station Ajay Kumar, who was part of the raiding team, said that the gang had 17-18 members spread over Bengal, UP and Jharkhand.