Over Rs 1.35 crore was stolen from the strong room of a State Bank of India (SBI) branch in Amreli town in Gujarat, said police.
After the two day holiday on Sunday and Monday (Janmashtami), when the bank was opened on Tuesday, the burglary in the bank’s branch came to light. The bank officials came to know about the theft when they found the safe in the strong room broken.
Immediately after the discovery of the theft, the matter was reported by the bank to the Amreli district police. The bank counted the remaining cash left to ascertain the amount of money stolen. On Tuesday evening the police informed that the thieves had stolen Rs1,35,30,000.
A report by The Indian Express quoted Superintendent of Police of Amreli Nirlipt Rai as saying, “Counting of cash is still on and we are yet to know the exact amount of cash the thieves have stolen. But prima facie, it is more than Rs 1 crore.” The burglars had broken into the strong room through a small ventilator. They even used the same route for exiting from the place, added the police.
Also Read : Kerala Floods : SBI announces special loan upto Rs 10 lakh for it’s customers
Nirlipt Rai reportedly said, “This small ventilator opens into an abandoned building. Thieves removed the iron grill from the ventilator and one person entered the strong room to steal the cash.”
Since the burglars avoided touching the doors of the strong room, the alarm was inactive. The SP said, “The incident took place between 8:30 pm and 10:30 pm on first of this month. But the bank officers came to know about it today (Tuesday) when the bank reopened.”
Rai added, “This building was earlier used by Central Excise department but it had been abandoned later on. The modus operandi indicates that more than one person could be involved.”
Post Your Comments