Multiple masked robbers, dressed in military-style clothing and wielding country-made pistols and other deadly weapons, robbed a branch of the State Bank of India (SBI) in Karnataka’s Vijayapura district Tuesday evening.
The Vijayapura police said the robbers overpowered the personnel at the SBI branch in the Chadchana town, threatened and restrained the manager, cashier, and other staff members before executing the crime. The police said the robbery took place at 6.30 pm when the bank was closed to customers, and the security guard was on leave.
This is the second bank heist reported in the Vijayapura district in four months.
According to the First Information Report (FIR), the men fled with Rs 1.04 crore in cash and 20 kg gold worth Rs 20 crore from the bank. The police said there were three men inside the bank, and that two more were outside.
The police also said a couple of bullets were fired inside the branch, and a few people were standing outside to withdraw money from the ATM kiosk when the SBI heist took place.
Laxman B Nimbargi, Superintendent of Police, Vijayapura, told reporters, “We responded immediately after receiving information about the theft. Currently, the exact amount of stolen cash and gold ornaments remains unclear pending the arrival of senior bank officials.”
Current account application and a few mistakes
According to the FIR, Tarakeshwar, the bank manager, said that a few minutes before the robbery, a man aged 25 to 30 years, wearing a mask, cap, and glasses, entered his chamber.
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“He wanted to open a current account, and he produced the form with he wrong details. I asked him to correct it. Meanwhile, my colleague Mahanthesh and I went towards the strong room to close the day’s account. The man followed us, and at gunpoint told us ‘cash nikalo warna jaan se maar doonga’ (Take out the cash, else we will kill you),” Tarakeshwar said.
He said more men came and tied their hands and legs, according to the FIR.
A police officer said the robbers also tied up some customers, packed the valuables in sacks before locking the premises from outside, and fled the spot. The office added that the crime has been captured in the CCTV footage.
The police suspect the perpetrators fled toward Maharashtra via the Hulajanti route, indicating possible interstate coordination — suggesting a well-planned escape strategy that could complicate the investigation.
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A similar robbery took place in May, when thieves fled with Rs 5.20 lakh in cash and 58.97 kg of gold jewellery worth approximately Rs 53.26 crore from a Canara Bank locker in Managuli village in the state’s Bijapur district. The police arrested 15 suspects after they investigated the robbery.