Bhubaneswar/Rourkela, Aug. 2: In a daring daylight robbery, a gang of five armed robbers looted Rs 2.5 lakh cash from the Bimlagarh branch of State Bank of India, 80km from Rourkela, this afternoon.

Rourkela SP, Himanshu Lal said: “We have sealed all the roads and launched a search operation to nab the culprits. We are trying to arrest the accused as soon as possible.”

Unconfirmed sources said that a police team led by the SP had raided the trains passing through nearby Bandhamunda railway station and detained an unknown person. Interrogation was on.

According to eyewitnesses, the robbery took place at Bimlagarh SBI branch around 3.15 pm. Five persons entered into the branch covering their faces. They fired at the close circuit TV sets, which were damaged and stopped functioning. They then fired five rounds of bullets in the air to scare the bank staff and the customers.

The customers were asked not to leave, while the five bank staff, including the branch manager, were herded into a corner of the hall. The robbers then snatched away their mobile phones and switched them off, said a bank official requesting anonymity.

The robbers then proceeded to the cash counter and made off with Rs 2.5 lakh cash, said another bank official.