RAYAPARTHI (WARANGAL): In a plot straight out of bank heist movie, robbers decamped with 19kg of gold ornaments valued at Rs 13 crore kept in the strongroom of an SBI branch in Rayaparthy mandal in Warangal district.
The robbery took place after the bank closed on Monday evening and was discovered when the staff came in on Tuesday morning. The stolen jewellery was not from private lockers, but gold mortgaged by customers, sources said.
The robbers disabled CCTV cameras as well as the alarm and entered the bank by cutting open the rear door and windows with the help of a gas cutter, police said, adding that they then cut open the strongroom grill and lockers to take the gold.
The branch has no security guard and the building is located at the end of a lane off the main road connecting Warangal and Khammam. Though there are a few houses around the building, nobody seems to have noticed anything amiss. Locals who were on their early morning walks and those going to the fields said they heard some noises but didn’t make much of it.
After the job was done, the robbers even left the gas cutter at the very spot, police said. K Srinivas Rao, Wardhannapet inspector, said the staff called them after discovering the robbery. A forensics team and a dog squad examined the crime scene, he said.
Following the robbery, worried customers began lining up at the bank to enquire about their jewellery. However, police and bank staff did not permit them to enter the premises, as the investigation was on.
Police said they are checking CCTV footage from the bank’s vicinity for clues to the robbers. “We received a complaint from the bank staff and have registered a case. An investigation is going on,” Srinivas Rao said.
