South Bihar Gramin Bank dacoity case accused Prakash Mali surrenders before Ara Court

Kumar Rajiv Nayan

Ara : Under mounting police pressure, Prakash Mali surrendered before an Ara Court on November 25, 2019, in connection with loot of Rs 30.27 lakh cash from South Bihar Gramin Bank (SBGB) located  near Bazaar Samiti under Nawada police station, Ara,  in Bhojpur District on November 18, 2019. Later, he was sent to jail under judicial custody.

Earlier, police arrested had three criminals :  Bottle Mahto alias Siku alias Shahi Kapoor Kushwaha of Ratnadh village under Gadhani police station, mastermind of the gang, Bijay Chaudhary of Anaith locality under Nawada police station, and Polty alias Shwetabh Singh of Godhna Road locality under under Nawada police station at the gate of different theatres at Sonepur fair in Saran District in North Bihar on November 20, 2019, when they came out of the theatre in the morning. Police also recovered Rs 18.17 lakh and seized a pistol, two magazines, 10 live cartridges from their possession. During interrogation, the miscreants named Deepak Mahto, Bantu, Gaurav Singh, Sudhir Raj and Prakash Mali.

Bhojpur SP Sushil Kumar said that eight armed criminals reached the SBGB near Bazaar Samiti on November 18, 2019, around 1.30 pm in a luxury car and after making the bank manager captive, thrashing him with rifle butt, and firing at least six rounds inside the bank, decamped with Rs 30.27 lakh.

The SP stated that he had formed a Special Investigation Team (SIT) under ASP Ambrish Rahul to crack the bank dacoity case and arrest the miscreants. The SIT, following mobile surveillance, arrested Bottle Mahto alias Siku alias Shahsi Kapoor Kushwaha from Sonepur fair and recovered 1.5 lakh from his possession. He had already spent Rs 1 lakh. The SIT arrested Bijay Chaudhary and Polty alias Shwetabh Singh and recovered Rs 16.17 lakh from their possession and seized a luxury car, ladies purse, a pistol, two magazines, 10 live cartridges, one Pen drive, one mobile phone used for hatching conspiracy for bank dacoity and four more mobiles from their possession.

The SP said that under mounting police pressure, one of the main accused Prakash Mali surrendered before an  Ara  Court on November 25. He said that  police are conducting raids to arrest the remaining four criminals in connection with the  case.

The SP stated that 32 cases of murder, robbery, bank loot, extortion, Arms Act  are pending against bottle Mahto with different police station in Bhojpur, Buxar and other districts. Earlier, Bottle Mahto was arrested from Rupaspur locality in Patna District along with his six aides and 7.65mm pistol in connection with firing at the house of Mukhia, Karwasin, Asha Rani at Charkhanbha gali under Ara Town police station on December 19, 2017, when her husband, Gaushankar Sharma refused to give extortion amount to him and  looted a Scorpio after killing its owner Sourabh Kumar under Barhara police station area on November 14, 2019. He was granted bail and came out of Beur Central Jail, Patna, in July 2019. He ran a gang named B-company.