Patna: Vaishali police on Tuesday claimed to have identified and detained a few suspects in the daylight robbery at Rampur Ratnakar branch of Union Bank in Vaishali district.

A gang of armed criminals had looted Rs 10.15 lakh in cash from the bank after opening fire and terrorising the employees and customers at the bank at Belkunda, around 40km north of Patna, on Monday. The criminals had also escaped with the hard disc of the CCTV there. But a sniffer dog helped the police identity one member of the gang, which led to the detention of a few other suspects for questioning.

Vaishali superintendent of police (SP) Manavjeet Singh Dhillon said the identity of the gang members had already been ascertained and raids were on to arrest them. "The police have zeroed in on the members. They will be nabbed soon," he said over phone.

Mahua sub-divisional police officer (SDPO) Malti Kumari said the police have got substantial leads in the case and the criminals will be arrested soon. The criminals had fled on three motorbikes they had parked outside, she said.

Mahua police station house officer Bhagwati Nath Prasad said the criminals entered the bank as customers and held the employees and customers hostage at gun point.

Only seven employees and four customers were in the bank at the time, he said.

Earlier, the acting manager of the bank, Gaurab Jaiswal, told the police that four criminals entered the bank around 1.30pm and looted Rs 6 lakh from the strongroom and Rs 4.15 lakh from the cash counter at pistol point. They also assaulted two customers who had gone to the bank to deposit their cash.

Last month, unidentified criminals had looted Rs 2.60 lakh in cash from a private bank located under the jurisdiction of Mahua police station.