Chennai: Burglars broke into Union Bank of India during the Pongal holidays and decamped with nearly 130 sovereigns of gold jewels from three lockers on RK Mutt Road.
They had used gas-welding machines to cut the grilles of a window leading to the vault from a school ground, which abuts the bank building. They also used the gas welder to break into the iron sheathing which covered the window from inside the vault and also to cut open as many as 3 lockers of the bank.
The burglary came to light on Wednesday morning after the bank reopened after a four-day holiday, and the routine inspection was carried out in the vault room.
The staff sensed the change in temperature and light in the vault room. The room was unusually illuminated with natural lighting and there was a breeze as well. The staff went after the source to find the vault having been breached.
The vault had at least 55 lockers in its safe room, which can be operated by the bank’s manager, cashier and customers who hire the locker.
The bank’s manager PK Ganesh alerted cops. An emergency holiday was declared through a notice board put up in front of the bank. The bank, which operates from a two-storey building, has its banking operations in the first floor while the lockers and other storage facilities are on the ground floor.
JCP (East) P. Manoharan and Mylapore DCP V. Balakrishnan inspected the crime scene.
“A CCTV footage collected from the bank suggested it was the work of a 3-member-team. From the preliminary assessment the loss could be pegged at 130 sovereigns”, said a senior police official privy to the investigation.
“We have also collected footage from the leading pathways to establish the identity of the burglars. The adjacent school was closed on January 13. It too reopened on Wednesday. The burglars have timed the strike to coincide with the holiday,” the official added.
