Hyderabad: Unidentified persons broke into the Shameerpet branch of State Bank of India, located on Rajiv Rahadari Highway, close to the police station, in the wee hours of Sunday. The emergency alarm went off when they tried to access the strong room, alerting cops and bank officials and prompting the suspects to flee the spot. There were no guards on the premises at the time of the incident. This is the second time that the branch has been broken into in less than two years.
The manager of the bank received an emergency alert at around 3.10am on Monday, after which the Shameerpet police also received a similar alert. Police teams and bank officials rushed to the spot, but they did not find anybody in the bank. The police found that the grills of a bathroom window at the rear end of the bank building had been cut. They believe that the suspects must have entered the bank through the two foot by one-and-a-half foot window. Footage from a CCTV camera installed in the bank showed a single person moving around the bank. “The suspect covered all the cameras, but he missed one, which captured his movements. He is seen wearing a mask,” said D. Bhaskar Reddy, the inspector of Shameerpet.
The same branch was broken into in December 2015 as well. The accused were subsequently identified and arrested. A few years ago, some people tried to target the ATM attached to the bank, but failed. “The bank installed CCTV cameras ffter the previous incident, but did not deploy security guards. A notice will be served to them for not complying with the security standards,” Mr Reddy said.
The inspector said that the suspect was carrying some sharp objects and a packet of chilli powder, which he may have planned to sprinkle around to get rid of any fingerprints and clues. The sharp objects may have been used to cut the grills. The accused must have started cutting the grills more than a couple of hours before the incident. “We suspect that two more persons may have been waiting for the main suspect behind the bathroom,” an official added. A case has been registered against the suspects based on the complaint filed by bank manager Ms Sadhana.
