Davanagere, Mar 31: A Karnataka Police team has cracked the SBI bank theft case reported from Nyamati in Davanagere district in October 2024, arresting six people and recovering the over 17 kg of stolen gold, worth Rs 13 crore, from a remote well, in a village in Madurai district of neighbouring Tamil Nadu, officials said.

The case was a challenge to the police as the gang was able to execute this heist without leaving any evidence such as fingerprints, CCTV footage, toll data, and cell/phone data.

The arrested accused were identified as Vijay Kumar, 30, Ajay Kumar, 28, Abheesheka, 23, Chandru, 23, Manjunath, 32 and Paramananda, 30. Vijay Kumar and Ajay Kumar are brothers, while Paramanda is the husband of their sister.

All three were originally from Tamil Nadu but have had a sweets business in Nyamati for many years. The other 3 accused, Abheesheka, Chandru, and Manjunatha, are from Nyamati.

The heist was master minded by Vijay Kumar, who saw this as a way to solve his financial problems. Further, selecting the Nyamati branch of the SBI for the crime was also partly due to his loan application for Rs 15 lakh being rejected by the bank in August 2023.

He was inspired by TV series like ‘Money Heist’ and other movies dealing with bank thefts and robberies. Further, he claims to have relied on YouTube videos to help him plan each step of the heist.

The theft was meticulously planned over 6-9 months, and the gang took all necessary precautions to cover their tracks. Vijay Kumar purchased the needed equipment over this period, including silent hydraulic iron cutters and gas cutting equipment.

He even made sure to grind off the serial numbers of the oxygen cylinder he had purchased for gas cutting.

To further his plans, Vijay Kumar took the assistance of his brother, Ajay Kumar, his brother-in-law, Parmananda and his friends, Abheesheka, Chandru, and Manjunatha. Vijay Kumar and Chandru conducted multiple night recces to measure how much time it would take to walk to the bank through the fields behind it and to observe movements of police and public.

On October 28, 2024, pledged gold ornaments with a net weight of 17.7 kg were reported stolen from the Nyamati branch of the SBI in Davanagere after the weekend.

The robbers had entered the premises through a window on the left side of the main banking hall after removing the iron grilles of the window. One of the lockers in the strongroom had been broken open with a gas cutter and emptied. Further, the DVR containing all CCTV footage of cameras in the bank premises had been taken away by the robbers.

Interestingly, the robbers had spread chilli powder all across the bank premises, including the strongroom and the manager’s cabin, with the intention was preventing the dog squad from picking up their scent.

The investigation of the case was handed over to Assistant Superintendent of Police, Channagiri Sub-Division, Sam Varghese. Under the supervision of the Superintendent of Police, Davanagere, Uma Prashanth, various teams were formed, led by ASP Varghese, Deputy Superintendent of Police, Rural, B.S. Basavaraj and Nyamati Police Station Inspector, Ravi N.S.

From the very first day, the police teams worked relentlessly to collect evidence from the scene of the crime and the surrounding areas. Combing searches and area domination exercises were conducted in an 8 km radius of the bank. Technical analysis of all CCTVs in a 50-km radius, extensive cell and tower dumps and toll data from all inter-state tolls were collected.

However, it was discovered that the offenders had managed to sufficiently cover their tracks and had left no evidence behind. Subsequently, innovative and far-reaching investigation techniques were employed by the team to trace the robbers.

Certain technical evidence was eventually found by the team recently, which revealed the involvement of persons from Tamil Nadu with associates in Nyamati.

The police swiftly acted and through inquiries, it was found that the Nyamati SBI bank theft was perpetrated by the six accused.

After 5 months of perseverance and dedicated efforts, the Davanagere police cracked this case and arrested the 6 accused. After the arrests, the police quickly launched operations to recover the stolen property from various places in Usalampatti town of Madurai, including the well.

The police, with the help of divers, were able to recover a locker filled with 15 kg of gold from a 30-feet-deep irrigation well in a farm in Usalampatti.

--IANS

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