Armed dacoits and Raniganj Police engaged in a fierce gun battle before the dacoits escaped after looting the Senco Gold jewellery showroom in Tarbangla area within Raniganj Police Station limits here on Sunday afternoon. At around 12 noon today, a group of seven to eight armed dacoits aged between 22 to 25 years stormed inside the jewellery showroom and snatched the carbines of the private security guards and looted ornaments from the store located just beside the busy and congested National Highway -14. The operation took about fifteen minutes.

All the dacoits were wearing helmets and were speaking in Hindi. Police suspect that they are gang members from Jharkhand. A police patrol van standing nearby chased the dacoits. The dacoits opened fire and police retaliated with gunfire. As it was a Sunday, there has huge crowd in the market and customers fled in panic trying to avoid getting caught in the cross fire. The dacoits fled away riding a motor cycle. Raniganj Police have seized a semiautomatic carbine from the spot and a motor cycle. One dacoit is believed to have been injured in the exchange of fire withpolice, but his accomplices managed to take him away. Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) of Asansol Durgapur Police Commissionerate (ADPC), Dhruba Das has rushed to the spot with a huge police force.

A large number of empty bullet shells were lying on the ground in the aftermath of the shoot-out. The BengalJharkhand border has been sealed and a red alert has been sounded in all police stations of West Burdwan district. Raniganj Police have started scanning all the CCTV footage in the area to trace the exit route of the dacoits. The CCTV footage of the showroom has been seized by the police. Mr. Sudip Roy, owner of the showroom said that it is yet to be estimated how much gold jewellery have been looted by the dacoits. Last year similar incidents of dacoity has taken place in two showrooms of Senco Gold in Purulia town and Ranaghat in Nadia district.

CID officials are also reaching the spot, sources said. It is suspected that the dacoits may have taken shelter in the nearby Nimcha forest. Mr. Rohit Khaitan, president of Raniganj Chamber of Commerce blamed the state government for the deteriorating law and order situation, with the robbery taking place in broad daylight in the Raniganj business hub.