Five armed men on Thursday looted Rs 13.28 lakh from a branch of Punjab National Bank (PNB) in Sonepur, Bihar, and shot dead two home guards.

The incident occurred at the Barbatta locality close to the divisional railway manager’s office at around 2pm. The place is around 25km north of the state capital.

Footage captured by the CCTV at the bank shows five persons, some of them wearing masks entering the bank. Security personnel enquired something from them. However, they whipped out their pistols.

The footage shows the two jawans carrying old .303 rifles resisting the miscreants during which one of them was shot almost point blank in his chest. The other one tried to run out but was also chased and shot.

The home guards have been identified as Ganesh Sah and Ram Naresh Rai. Both were rushed to the hospital where they died during treatment.

“Altogether five miscreants had come on two motorcycles. A special investigation team has been formed to investigate the incident and nab the people involved in it. The arms and ammunition of the deceased home guard jawans were recovered from the bank premises,” a statement by the Bihar police headquarters said.

“Five people came with arms. They fired aroundfive bullets. They looted around Rs 12 lakh and escaped. We are trying to ascertain the exact amount they have taken away,” Puja Kumari, a PNB bank official, told reporters.

At least a dozen banks have been robbed in different districts across the state this year. A cash van carrying Rs 1.47 crore was looted in Patna on Monday.