The accused, six to seven in number, came to the bank’s Suisha village branch in four motorcycles around 2 pm, police said.
They were reportedly dressed in clothes resembling the police uniform.
Ironically, the bank is situated very close to the Bagmundi police station.
Purulia Superintendent of Police Ashoke Kumar Prasad said the group brandishing firearms entered the manager’s room first and snatched the key to the vault.
Ruling out the involvement of Maoists, the police said they suspect a new group of miscreants, operating in the area bordering Jharkhand, to be behind the robbery.
The Superintendent of Police also said that the six mobile phones snatched from the employees of the bank have been traced to Jharkhand.