Five masked men looted a non-banking financial company and escaped with gold jewellery worth Rs 12 crore and Rs 10 lakh in cash in Udaipur on Monday.

The men held employees at Manappuram Finance hostage at gunpoint, news agency PTI reported. Kerala-based Manappuram Finance provides gold loan services to customers.

According to Udaipur’s police superintendent Vikas Kumar Sharma, the robbers entered Manappuram Finance’s branch in Pratap Nagar in Udaipur, about 25 minutes after the office was opened, Hindustan Times reported.

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The five bike-borne men entered the office through its unguarded front door, the police said.

Only five employees and a customer were present at the Manappuram Finance office at the time. The robbers took guns from their bags and asked all present to move into a corner of the main room. They threatened to shoot if those present did not follow the instructions.

According to the police, the robbers also took away the mobile phones of the people and disconnected the landline.

Durgesh Sharma, an employee at Manappuram Finance, told Hindustan Times that one of the masked men stood guard at the main entry gate, while two held those present in the room hostage at gunpoint. Two others barged into the manager’s room. The employees were tied with ropes and pushed down on the floor, Sharma said.

When the manager refused to give the keys to the chest, he was beaten by the robbers, the employee said. The assistant manager was then asked for the keys. It was only after the robbers pointed a pistol at the head of the manager that he gave the keys.

The police said two robbers then stashed the jewellery and cash into two bags while one of them guarded the manager and his assistant.

They then decamped with the loot after tying the manager and his assistant and locking the main door from outside. The five robbers fled on two motorbikes parked on the ground floor, police said.

One of the employees was able to untie his hands and call the police at around 9.50 am. The police investigated the CCTV footage and found the robbers leaving the building at around 9.40 am, showing no signs of panic.

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While the exact worth of the looted jewellery is yet to be ascertained, the manager estimated the robbers had decamped with 20 kg gold worth about Rs 12 crore and Rs 10 lakh cash, the police said.

The police are also investigating the possibility of an insider job as the robbers were aware of the office layout, including the strong room. They were also checking if the robbers had visited the office earlier too.

(Edited by : Sudarsanan Mani)