A gang of 12 entered the bank at 335 DIT Road, west Rampura, under the guise of customers, overpowering the lone guard Kadam Ali. One of them held him in tight grip during the 15-minute robbery.

They robbed the guard of his rifle, which they left behind. The other guard, Minnat Ali, was off yesterday.

Inside the bank, two of the gang went straight to the chamber of the bank manager and forced him and two customers into a bathroom. Others climbed the glass wall of the cash counter and took away Tk 6,49,440 from one drawer. Two other drawers were left untouched, said bank officials.

The gang also snatched Tk 91,081 from a trader who went to the bank to deposit the money and Tk 70,000 from Monirul Islam, a customer, waiting at the counter. The robbers pinned other customers down and scared them silent.

"The robbers snapped telephone lines and threatened me with death before they confined me to the bathroom," said Manager Kazi Sirajul Islam.

"One of them hit me in the neck with his rifle, when I tried to stand up to see what was going on," said Senior Officer Mohammad Shahjahan.

"I sneaked into the storeroom at the back of the bank and asked vendors outside to call police," said Joynal Abedin, a cash assistant.

Police went to the bank 15 minutes after the robbers got off with the loots. Law enforcers believe the robbers are local residents and the bank officials have links with them.

Police picked up 10 people from the area. But the bankers could not identify any of them. Police were also questioning three bank officials for information.

"I had asked the bank authorities to tighten security with guards, but they were not serious enough," said Officer-in-Charge of Khilgaon Police Station Mohammad Entezar. "The gang did not touch the vault where Tk 22 lakh was kept," he said.

Mohammad Ashraful Huda, commissioner of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police, visited the spot and ordered the police station to take necessary action. Officials of different agencies, including the Detective Branch of Police and the Criminal Investigation Department, also went to the spot.