Chennai: In an incident that lays bare the lax security arrangements in bank branches in the city, especially public sector banks, a man wearing a helmet robbed the Indian Bank branch in Adyar in broad daylight on Monday. He would have got away too if not a road mishap as, in an obvious hurry when he fled, he bumped into traffic at the nearby signal.
According to police sources, a man, who concealed his face by wearing a helmet had entered the bank in Indira Nagar during the lunch hour at 1 pm and went straight into manager Mohammed Ashraf’s room. “The man took two country-made pistols out of his trousers and threatened the manager and customers. He went to the cashier and took Rs 6.36 lakh and fled unchallenged,” the police said.
Only around six customers were inside the bank as the man had entered during the start of the lunch hour. After the ‘successful’ heist, the robber had come out and hopped on his two-wheeler that he had parked just outside the branch and rode away.
In his frantic hurry to flee the area, he crashed into a two-wheeler and a car at the traffic signal located only a few metres away from the bank. “Due to the impact of the mishap, one of the guns in his possession fired accidentally and created panic among motorists.
Traffic Inspector Joseph, who was conducting a traffic awareness camp at the signal, subdued the robber with the help of public and other traffic policemen and informed the Adyar police,” the sources said.
During interrogation, the robber had reportedly identified himself as Manish Kumar Yadav (22) of Bihar, staying in Kelambakkam near the city. Police seized two country-made pistols and the stolen cash from him.
The police have registered a case and are investigating a possible conspiracy. The police, however, discredited onlookers’ version of Manish Kumar talking to somebody over the phone using a bluetooth device during the entire heist. “No such device was found during interrogation. We are investigating the case to find any possible plot,” a police officer said.
Meanwhile, bank customers who witnessed the robbery said security personnel were not present at the time. “Usually there will be a security guard in the bank, but during the robbery, the guard had not been present,” one of the customers said.
“The robber pointed the gun at us and asked us to move to a corner. After he was handed over the money, he fled,” Poongavanam, a customer who was inside the bank when the heist took place, said.
Second bank robbery in one month
The gunpoint robbery in Indian Bank, Adyar, is second such incident in a month, in which public sector banks were robbed in the city. Although the March 26 heist at Virugambakkam IOB was not as cinematic as Monday robbery, the amount of robbed property during the IOB heist was nearly Rs 1 crore.
On March 26 night, the Nepal-based security guard Sabilal and his accomplices had successfully weld opened the lockers of the bank and fled with gold and cash. The police have arrested two persons in Bengaluru and yet to extradite masterminds of the crime, Sabilal and others from Nepal.
