Four held in connection with robbery at SBI bank in Karnataka's Vijaypura district

Vijayapura (Karnataka), Oct 9 (PTI) Four people have been arrested in connection with robbery of cash and gold ornaments worth over Rs 21 crore at a SBI bank branch in this district last month, police said on Thursday.

Three of the accused -- Rakesh Kumar Sahani (22), Rajkumar Ramlal Paswan (21) and Rakshak Kumar (21), were arrested from Samastipur district of Bihar, they said.

The identity of the main suspect, who has been arrested from Maharashtra, has not been revealed by the police for investigation purposes.

Following investigation, police claimed to have so far recovered 9.01 kg gold and Rs 86.31 lakh in cash.

Based on technical analysis and credible information, the investigation revealed that the firearms supplied to the accused were procured from Bihar, police said.

"Acting on this, a police team travelled to Bihar and arrested the individuals who had supplied the illegal weapons and assisted in the crime," Vijaypura Superintendent of Police Laxman Nimbargi said.

"One accused from Maharashtra played a key role in planning the bank robbery. He had conducted reconnaissance visits to the bank multiple times and had stolen a car in Mangalwedha town in Solapur district to use in the crime. He was arrested on October 7 and produced before the court," he said.

From his possession, police seized 55 grams of gold bangles and one motorcycle used in the crime, he said.

Efforts are underway to nab two more suspects involved in the robbery, whose identities have been ascertained, police said, adding that they are working towards recovering the remaining gold and cash looted during the robbery.

According to police, on September 16, at around 7.20 pm, three masked men armed with country-made pistols and knives allegedly robbed the nationalised bank in Chadchan town of this district, making off with cash and gold ornaments, after tying up the staff.

In total, cash and gold ornaments worth over Rs 21 crore were stolen by the robbers as per the estimate of the bank authorities. They escaped with cash worth more than a crore and gold ornaments weighing approximately 20 kg, worth approximately Rs 20 crore, the FIR stated.

Based on the complaint of the bank manager, a case was registered in this regard, police said, adding that seven teams were formed to nab the suspects.

According to Nimbargi, investigations revealed that the car used by the accused to flee after committing the crime met with an accident at Hulajanti village in Solapur district, Maharashtra. When locals gathered at the spot, the driver brandished a pistol to threaten them and fled, abandoning the car there.

"Acting swiftly, the investigation team rushed to the spot and seized 21 packets containing 888.33 grams of gold jewellery and Rs 1,03,160 in cash from the vehicle," he said.

The officer said that during a cordon and search operation conducted for two days in and around Hulajanti village, police found that the accused had thrown a bag onto the terrace of an abandoned house. Upon inspection, the bag was found to contain 6.54 kg of gold ornaments and Rs 41.03 lakh in cash.

Police also recovered 1.587 kg of gold and Rs 44,25,060 in cash from 15 residents of Hulajanti who had taken the gold and cash from the vehicle. PTI AMP KH