Grameena bank robbed of gold, cash

• Robbers take away Rs 4 cr worth gold, Rs 14 lakh cash
• Police suspect involvement of a professional gang
• Offence done in two days, leave no clues
• Local residents blame officials’ laxity, ineffective patrolling

Mahabubnagar: In a filmi-style act, robbers managed to take away gold ornaments worth Rs 4 crore, besides Rs 14 lakh cash, from the Grameena Vikas Bank in Balanagar mandal headquarters on Sunday.

The police, who suspect the involvement of four to five offenders, said it occurred in the very heart of the town on two days. The robbers, according to the police, might have entered the bank around midnight on Saturday after breaking open the shutter lock and cutting the iron rods using gas from a six-foot cylinder.

They are suspected to have broken the lockers and closed them with the locks brought by them. The robbers are said to have returned on Sunday midnight to take away the valuables. They left behind the tools used in committing the offence.

Experts suspected that since the gas cylinder was six-foot and the robbers--- described as seasoned hands and members of a gang--- might have taken about eight hours to cut the lockers. Going by this proposition, the offence might have been completed on Sunday, taking advantage of the two holidays.

The robbery came to light on Monday and customers rushed to the bank upon learning about the robbery. The fact that it was brought to light very late showed the bank officials’ laxity and loopholes in the security set-up.

Bank Manager Ravikishore Reddy estimated the gold loss to be worth Rs 4 crore, as loans of Rs 2.45 crore were released to farmers, after pledging their ornaments, and others. He said 13.5 kg gold and Rs 14 lakh kept in the lockers were taken away by the robbers.

It is evident from the way the offenders took precautions not to leave any proof, including finger prints, that they had made fool-proof plans to commit the robbery. They took away the bank’s CC camera hard-disc footage. The police pressed into service a sniffer dog but failed to secure any clues. The dog took three rounds of the bank and stopped, thus getting nowhere.

The police surmised that a ‘pucca’ professional gang was involved in the robbery going by the offenders’ professional conduct. They launched search operation to locate the robbers.

Local residents attribute the incident to the bank officials’ callous attitude and ineffective police patrolling, when it took place adjacent the National Highway 44, that too spread over two days.