Bhubaneswar, July 9: Khurda police have arrested seven people in connection with the May 3 loot from Narangarh branch of Odisha Gramya Bank, 20km from the district headquarters and 45km from here.

Of the arrested, three were directly involved in the loot while four others sheltered them. Two other accused are absconding. The police have seized 100 packets of gold ornaments and cash worth Rs 1.90 lakh with a pistol and five live bullets from the arrested.

The police said all of the accused hailed from various parts of Nayagarh and Ganjam districts. They hatched the plot of robbery on May 1 at a slum in Bhubaneswar. All those arrested are in the age group of 20 to 25 years.

The police said two of them had previous criminal antecedents, including charges of dacoity and attempt to murder.

“We have been conducting frequent raids to nab the culprits, who fled to the forest near Dadhimachhagadia Square after committing the crime. All of them were later sent to jail,” said Dayanidhi Gochhayat, Khurda superintendent of police.

The police said they had tracked the movement of one of the accused, who escaped on a motorcycle near Kaipadar where the forest comes to an end. The police have seized bomb-making materials from the slum.

The police said lack of security in the branch had prompted the robbers to target it.

The police during their investigation had found that 296 packets of gold ornaments and cash worth Rs 7.7 lakh were missing from the bank. The cops had earlier seized two bags containing 81 packets of gold ornaments and cash worth Rs 1 lakh.

The dacoits hurled bombs to scare people and fired at the bank employees. They also fired at a local youth to snatch his motorcycle. The police have seized five motorcycles belonging to the robbers.