Rourkela, Sept. 24: In a daring incident, robbers decamped with Rs 12 lakh in cash, along with gold, from a branch of the nationalised Indian Bank in Sundargarh today.

According to bank employees, five to six persons entered the bank at around 2.30pm. They rushed to the branch manager R. Kerketta's chamber and held her at gunpoint.

They asked for the master keys of the strong room and the chests. The manager handed over the keys out of fear.

The gang decamped with the cash, which was kept in one chest and gold from another within 10 to 15 minutes.

Before leaving, they took away the server's hard disk, along with the CCTV footages.

Bank manager Kerketta said: "They were talking in Hindi and asked for the keys. I was forced to hand them the keys as they put a gun to my head."

Speaking to The Telegraph, Sundargarh superintendent of police R. Prakash said: "According to initial estimates, the robbers took away more than Rs 12 lakh. Besides, the bank authorities are evaluating the worth of the gold stolen from the loan register."

Prakash said the gang, consisting of five to six members, also fled away with the server due to which it was not possible to immediately establish their identities. At the time of the incident, there were not many people in the bank.

"We are in touch with Jharsuguda, Sambalpur and Rourkela police and the borders have been sealed," said Prakash. The robbers also took away the mobile phones of the employees.