Armed criminals on Tuesday night looted Rs 3.75 lakh from a petrol pump in Fatuha, spurring a debate on how safe Patna is, especially after the Punjab National Bank heist in Barh, where gangsters looted Rs 60 lakh and killed three persons in daylight.

According to sources in the Fatuha police, around six armed men looted Rs 3.75 lakh from Subhkamna petrol pump on Daniyawa-Fatuha road.

Fatuha station house officer Sujit Kumar said: "Six armed criminals on Tuesday late night reached Subhkamna petrol pump when there were only a handful of employees at the gas station. The criminals after beating up the employees forcefully entered the office and looted the cash."

Terrified after the incident, the SHO said the petrol pump employees told the police that the incident occurred in such short duration that they didn't notice from which direction the criminals came and left. The petrol pump loot case has once again exposed weak policing, as the gas station is 9km from the Fatuha police station, but is just one-and-a-half kilometres from Daniyawa police station. Sources said it took more than an hour for the Fatuha police to reach the crime spot.

The case occurred at a time when the city police are still groping in the dark to crack the Punjab National Bank (PNB), Belachii branch, heist case.

Coming on the heels after repeated loot incidents in Patna, deputy inspector-general Shalin convened a high-level meeting with senior police officers issuing directives to check crime.

Shalin issued directives that police visibility has to be enhanced and checking has to be intensified. Bank and petrol pump cash has to be escorted and other security measures were necessary to prevent loots.

The DIG also asked that consumption and transportation of liquor will have to be checked through intensive vehicle checking especially for Holi. The police will also take strict action against those who indulge in misbehaviour or wrongdoing under the pretext of Holi.

The DIG stated that police officers will be punished if found negligent in implementing the directives.

Shalin said: "Police patrolling and vehicle checking will be intensified in Patna. We have asked petrol pump owners to coordinate with the local police whenever huge cash is being ferried."

In the Belachii bank loot case, the Patna police are still clueless on what had happened that day and who are behind it.

Sources said police suspect the role of local Munna gang behind the incident. The police have detained a few people in this connection. Sources added that the Munna gang is active in the Barh-Mokama region and in the past the gang has been behind several loots.

The Belachii police have arrested a sweeper in this connection.

A senior police officer probing the case said: "A day before the incident (Sunday) the sweeper, along with an unknown person, had entered the bank for some work. The movement of the sweeper and the person has been captured on CCTV."

The CCTV cameras installed outside the bank premises were functional till Sunday, but they developed a snag on the day of the crime.

The police are also probing into who provided the bank keys to the sweeper and the role of bank employees.

Two private guards, Yogeshwar Das and Suresh Kumar, besides SUV driver Anant Kumar of Bihar Risk Management Consultancy (BRMC) were killed by unidentified bike-borne criminals during the loot. They were carrying the cash from the Barh branch of PNB.

The Patna police are also in touch with the Nalanda police and shared the Sohsarai CCTV footage in which the criminals are partially visible. There is striking similarities between the Belachii incident and the Sohsarai incident.