Palghar: In a crime thriller-like scenario, a bank branch manager from the Axis Bank unit attempted to rob a ICICI bank branch, killed a deputy bank head and fled before he was caught, police said on Friday.The incident occurred at ICICI Bank’s Virar East Branch on Thursday around 8 pm after the bank closed for the day, when most employees had gone home, except for two female employees.
‘The prime accused Anil Dubey — the Naigaon Axis Bank Branch Manager, who is a former employee and ex-Manager of the ICICI Bank, has been arrested. There is no other person involved as of now,’ said Suresh Warade, Senior Police Inspector at the Virar Police Station.
As night approached, Dubey drove down to the ICICI Bank branch, entered inside, whipped out a sharp weapon, and threatened Deputy Manager Yogita Nishant Choudhary and her cashier colleague Shraddha Devrukhkar. Then he ordered them to hand over all the cash and jewellery, which he threw into a bag and attempted to flee the branch. The two women refused to give up without a fight so they screamed for help and tried to pin Dubey down who retaliated by attacking them both with the knife several times before breaking free to run.
By then, a few people from the neighboring shops had gathered and grabbed hold of Dubey, took the booty-filled bag, and kept it inside the ATM cabin and called the police. As they entered the branch, they saw Choudhary and Devrukhkar lying in pools of blood with multiple stab wounds.
Vartak, 36, died from her injuries later that day after suffering cuts in her throat, shoulder and other areas. Currently, Devrukhkar, 32, who was hit in the neck and shoulder, is being treated at a local hospital and further investigation is underway, said Warade. He claims the accused Dubey had allegedly run up huge debts in excess of Rs 1 crore and may have resorted to the heist to settle his debts. However, further details are lacking.
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In a guarded response, Axis Bank’s Spokesperson stated: ‘As a responsible institution, Axis Bank has zero tolerance towards unscrupulous elements and is committed to fully cooperate with the relevant authorities in resolving this issue. We have taken strict Disciplinary action immediately.’ ICICI Bank has declined to comment on the matter. However, banking expert and Maharashtra State Bank Employees’ Federation General Secretary Devidas Tuljapurkar referred to the incident as ‘unfortunate and unprecedented’.
‘The question that arises is whether the Axis Bank had taken the mandatory statement of assets & liabilities of the accused person before he was given a job, especially since he came from a competitive bank. The absence of the security guard outside ICICI Bank points to a larger conspiracy which must be probed thoroughly,’ Tuljapurkar told the media. Sources in the industry say Dubey, who has been in the banking industry for 15 years, had worked in several private banks, including ICICI Bank for 15 months, but had accumulated massive debts, bought luxury properties with siphoned funds and engaged in other irregularities.
While police were mum, the accused reportedly called up before going to the desolate branch where only two women officers were busy tallying and winding up the month-end accounts data.
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