30 kg gold robbed from gold loan company in Sambalpur

 About 30 kg of gold was allegedly robbed at gunpoint from the branch of a gold loan company in Odisha's Sambalpur city, police said on Saturday.

The robbery took place at Manappuram Finance's branch on Budharaja Main Road on Friday morning, they said.

Besides the gold, the robbers took away over Rs 4 lakh in cash, they added.

The gang of robbers barged into the branch just after it had opened. Three employees were held at gunpoint, while the hands and feet of the branch manager were tied, police said.

While some of the robbers were busy holding the staff of the branch hostage, the others of the gang acquired the keys and password to the vault and robbed the gold jewellery and cash. Some of them were also guarding the branch outside, according to the FIR.

"There were around 7-10 robbers and they were wearing helmets and masks. They fled the spot on motorcycles soon after the robbery," said SDPO Tophan Bag.

He said the CCTV footage of the area was being scanned and the employees of the company were interrogated.

In a statement, Manappuram Finance said preliminary investigations suggested that the stolen assets were valued at approximately Rs 20 crore.

Stating that no staff or customer was injured, it said the affected individuals were receiving counselling and support.

"We want to reassure all affected customers of the branch that their assets would be compensated by the company," it added.