Stephan Kayyar
Daijiworld Media Network - Kasargod

Updated

Kasargod, Sep 7: In a daylight robbery that seemed straight out of the movies, masked men barged into a bank here on Monday September 7 afternoon and looted 21 kg of gold and Rs 13 lac in cash, after threatening and tying up women staff and a customer.

The incident took place at the Eriyal branch of Kudlu Service Cooperative Bank. Five masked men armed with weapons entered the bank and closed the shutters from the inside. Two woman staff identified as Laxmi and Bindu screamed for help. The robbers brandished their weapons threatening, and then tied up Laxmi and gagged Bindu after making her sit on a chair. They also threatened a woman customer named Khamru Banu.

The robbers then broke open the lockers and took away gold worth 5.28 crore and cash worth Rs 13 lac.

The also snatched away 15 sovereigns of gold from Khamru Banu, who had come to the bank to deposit her gold ornaments, and also the gold chains that the female staff had worn.

The bank manager was out for lunch at the time.The entire incident took place within a matter of minutes, between around 2 pm to 2.05 pm. The robbers fled from the spot soon after in two bikes, in which they had come.

Superintendent of police M Srinivas and other police officials arrived at the spot and investigations are on.

Canine squad and fingerprint experts were also called. The investigation has been extended not only to Kerala but to Karnataka too. Police have found a dagger at the spot reportedly belonging to the robbers.

Strangely, the bank has no security guard nor CCTV camera. This despite the fact that the same bank was robbed 14 years ago in 2001, when 7 kg of gold was stolen in a theft during the night. Six persons were arrested in the case and sentenced recently.