Tunnelling into Navi Mumbai bank: Stolen valuables pegged at Rs 3 crore

After investigation, the Navi Mumbai police have stated that gold and silver jewellery worth Rs 2.85 crore was stolen during the heist at Bank of Baroda at Juinagar branch on Sunday night.

According to Suraj Padvi, Senior Police Inspector, Sanpada police station, “We are still calculating the amount of cash and jewellery stolen at the bank. Till now, the loss of valuables from 28 bank lockers is Rs 2,85,02,300.We have taken the details from the bank customers on Tuesday. Thirty lockers were broken by the robbers.”

Till now, the police have assessed that 10, 578 grams gold jewellery, 6,391 grams silver jewellery and a diamond ring have been stolen from 30 lockers. Meanwhile, the valuables kept inside the other 80 bank lockers have been returned to the respective owners.

Ten teams have been formed and sent to several states to trace the accused. The burglars had sneaked into the bank by digging a tunnel from a nearby Balaji general store which was recently rented out. One of the teams has been dispatched to Jharkhand to trace Gena Bachchan Prasad, a tenant of the general store who had taken a room on rent since May this year. After the incident, Prasad has gone missing.

“We are suspecting that Prasad is involved in the heist,” said Padvi.

The miscreants had entered the bank by digging a 25-feet tunnel across five shops to break into the locker room of the bank. The dacoity took place at Sector 11 at plot number 6 near Juinagar railway station.

The incident came to light on Monday morning when the bank re-opened and a staff member and a customer found the lockers in the treasury room damaged and reported the matter to a senior. The customer had wanted to deposit some valuables in the bank locker.