JAIPUR: In a shocking crime in Raja Park in the heart of the city, criminals looted Rs 14.77 lakh from state-owned UCO Bank early on Thursday morning and jewellery worth Rs 2.5 lakh from an employee. They fled the crime scene on the bike of another employee which has not been recovered so far by the police.The very nature of the robbery exposed police security in the congested area which is a hub of commercial establishments, banks and ATMs.Two criminals barged into the bank at about 9.30am with pistols and held the bank employees captive before decamping with cash and jewellery on a bike.They also fired three shots to threaten and overpower the employees. For almost 15 minutes, the robbers, who appeared well prepared, held the employees at gunpoint. They knew when the bank would open and that it had no security guard. This is how the crime occurred, according to witnesses.At around 9.30am, the robbers entered the bank from behind when cleaning worker Sunny and peon Ashok Kumar opened the gates. The two entered the bank covering their faces with handkerchief. "They showed us pistols and asked us to sit in a corner," Sunny said."One of the robbers fired a shot from his pistol and threatened to shoot me if I protested," Kumar said. As the employees continued to enter the bank, they were all held captive."They snatched my chain and my bangles. They fired at me and threatened me against raising my voice," said Rajni Bhargav , the second manager of the bank, about the horrific incident.Within five minutes, eight employees were held by the robbers. "They were wearing masks and caps to hide their identity," said Rajiv Gaur, the cashier of the bank.They then forced the employees to open the doors of the vault in which the cash was kept and fired a warning shot again. "They left the place with a bag containing nearly Rs 15 lakh," Gaur said.It was a terrible experience for another woman employee, Richa Raj, who joined the bank on Thursday .Raj had joined the service in UCO branch in Jaipur after she was transferred from Ara in Bihar. She was completely shaken when a robber put a pistol on her head. It was her first day in her new office and she had never thought as she would be welcomed in this manner. "She has not lost anything personal in the robbery like another women employee but it was her first day in the bank," Agarwal (bank manager) said. The bank had not posted any guards at the branch, But a few CCTV cameras have been installed for surveillance. "This branch is not in the list of sensitive branches of the bank. So, there was no security guard posted here. This is as per a policy followed by the bank regarding the deployment of security guards," said K K Agarwal, branch manager.Bank officials are not sure about the vehicle used by the criminals to reach the spot.But they fled the scene on the bike of an employee. Agarwal said that along with the bike, the robbers took jewellery worth Rs 2.5 lakh, worn by the second manager of the branch. UCO Bank is situated in the congested Raja Park area. Outside the bank, there are shops and houses. The residents of the area were in a state of shock after they came to know about the incident.The police reached the spot and took the video recording from CCTV cameras.The videos showed that the robbers had used a motorbike to reach the bank. The cameras also captured images of a woman bank employee being dragged by the criminals. One of them was seen putting his hand on her mouth to prevent her from shouting.

Stay updated with all the Latest Jaipur headlines here. For more exclusive & live news updates from all around India, stay connected with NYOOOZ.