Two masked men on a sports bike, armed with a pistol and a knife, managed to clean out cash from three fuel bunks in a span of fours hours two days ago probably because police failed to follow the standard protocol of nakabandi or sealing of escape routes following the first strike.

Wednesday’s looting spree is a grim reminder of a 2016 episode when outlaws had targeted four refill stations in the capital in quick succession, prompting police talks on the need to seal borders after a crime, an operating procedure that was finally implemented in May this year.

According to surveillance camera footage, the duo posing as customers targeted Hindustan Petroleum’s Jagrani pump in Sithio along Ring Road under Dhurwa thana at 2.32pm. They snatched Rs 17,000 from an employee at gunpoint.

They reached their next stop, Jhari Sakaldeep Petrol Pump that is also serviced by oil major HP, at 5.53pm. This fuel bunk at Pugru is located along a state highway under Tupudana thana, around 15km from Sithio. Four employees were held at gunpoint and relieved of Rs 46,000 cash, besides mobile phones.

Between the two incidents, police had more than three hours to seal Ranchi’s borders and launch extensive patrolling. But, insiders concede that the men in uniform were “so focussed on the Dhurwa case” that it didn’t occur to them that the bikers might strike again. Let alone nakabandi, no neighbouring police station was put on alert after the Jagrani strike.

The third target, at 6.10pm, was an Indian Oil-serviced bunk called Madhav Fuel, 200 metres from Jhari Sakaldeep. An amount of Rs 70,000 was taken from the staff, one of whom was also assaulted with a pistol butt.

Surveillance camera feeds indicate the same men were involved in all three incidents. One wore a red jacket, carried a backpack, had a knife and a white cloth covered his face. The other was armed with a firearm, wore a dark jacket and donned a balaclava. The latter, however, didn’t have the jacket — a light-coloured shirt instead — in the first CCTV camera footage procured from Jagrani.

According to Jhari Sakaldeep staff, during the seven-minute heist, the men either spoke in Hindi or a mix of Hindi and Bhojpuri. The duo were last traced (using stolen mobile phone details) to Bhusur, Ormanjhi, 40km from crime scene, around 10.14pm on Wednesday.

In May this year, Ranchi police had worked out a detailed standard operational procedure for all thanas. It involves nakabandi or exit route barricading and crackdown using PCR vans and Mobile Tiger units the moment a crime is reported.

As many as 37 urban points and 29 rural ones were identified as possible escape routes. The 30 PCR vans and 50 Mobile Tiger units in urban Ranchi and 15 PCR vans in rural areas are expected to patrol the areas.

Incidentally, Pugru where two of the crimes were committed is one of the identified escape routes. It provides easy escape to Khunti and Gumla districts via highway.

Prashant Chaudhary, owner of Jhari Sakaldeep, said patrolling was absent in the area since Durga Puja. “Earlier, a PCR van visited fuel stations in the area at least 10 to 12 times a day. Tiger Mobile cops came too,” he said.

Owner of Madhav Fuel Kamta Upadhyay echoed Chaudhary. “Policemen nowadays sit and relax inside their vans. They don’t bother to patrol on foot or otherwise,” he said.

Ranchi SSP Anish Gupta fumbled for answers when asked why his men didn’t follow the standard operating protocol or anticipate a rerun of the crime.

“It is mandatory for PCR vans and Mobile Tiger units to visit fuel pumps at routine intervals. Thana cops, on the other hand, got busy probing one case (instead of issuing an alert). There have been some lapses and we are investigating the matter,” Gupta said.