Odisha clothing seller robs two banks after taking inspiration from YouTube videos; stopped

Learning from YouTube videos, a 25-year-old readymade garment seller, who wanted to recover losses incurred during the lockdown, robbed two banks of Rs 12 lakh in Bhubaneswar, police said on Monday.

The accused was identified as Soumyaranjan Jena (25), alias Tulu, from Tangibanta village on the outskirts of the city. He had robbed Indian Overseas Bank and Bank of India last month using toy guns for the robbery and was arrested, police said.

Speaking to the media, Bhubaneswar-Cuttack Police Commissioner S Sarangi said the accused, who is a ready-made garment seller, had taken loans from the two banks and was in a difficult financial situation due to the confinement induced by COVID-19.

“He wanted to recover the losses incurred during the lockdown and robbed two banks of Rs 12 lakh in Bhubaneswar. He looted the Indian Overseas Bank, near Infocity area on September 7, and the Barimunda branch of the Bank of India in Mancheswar area on September 28 “I got the idea of ​​robbing a bank from watching YouTube videos and used a toy gun to rob both banks. Police recovered cash amounting to over Rs 10 lakh and seized the vehicle and the toy gun used in the theft,” the police commissioner said at a press conference.

Jena allegedly barged into the bank wearing a headset when few staff members were present and demanded them to hand over the money.

“The accused has accounts in both banks and had taken a loan of nearly Rs 19 lakh and had already paid 6 lakhs to the bank. He was arrested while going to deposit Rs 60,000 of the looted money . He assumed that if he deposits small amounts of money, no one will doubt him,” the police commissioner said. (ANI)