A gang of armed dacoits on Friday looted gold ornaments weighing around 29.5 kilograms from the office of a gold loan firm in West Bengal's Purba Bardhaman district and shot at a man who tried catching one of them, police said.
The dacoits managed to flee on motorbikes while the injured man was admitted to the Bardhaman Medical College and Hospital here.
Senior officials and Criminal Investigation Department (CID) personnel visited the spot and efforts are on to nab the culprits, police said.
A gang of six to seven men, all carrying firearms, entered the office of the gold loan firm located on the first floor of a building on BC Road and overpowered the security guard, police said.
They made the employees sit in one corner of a room and snatched the key of the vault from the manager after putting a handgun in his mouth, they said.
When they were placing ornaments stored in the vault in bags, a person identified as Hiraman Mondal tried to enter the office but was stopped by one of the dacoits guarding the entrance.
The duo had an altercation and during the heated exchange of words, the dacoit fired at Mondal. The bullet destroyed his mobile phone.
The sound of the gunshot alerted his associates inside the office. They scrambled down the stairs and fled on their motorbikes with the looted ornaments, police said.
Mondal tried to catch hold of one of the bike riders, who hit him on the head with the butt of a handgun while another fired at him. As the bullet struck him in his back, he fell down and the dacoits fled through Pilkhana Lane.
It was found out later that the looted gold weighed around 29.5 kilograms.
Senior police officers including Superintendent of Police Bhaskar Mukhopadhyay visited the office and talked to the employees.
Mukherjee said, "Naka-checking is being conducted across the district. We hope to nab the dacoits soon."
The police collected CCTV footage from nearby areas.
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