CCTV ‘captures’ four in failed bid to rob bank

Mumbai Crime Branch arrested the interstate gang from Masjid Bunder and handed them over to Solapur cops where they tried to rob State Bank of India

Four persons were arrested on Friday by the Mumbai crime branch for an attempt to rob the State Bank of India (SBI) at Solapur.

The accused, Amruddin Zahir Shaikh, 24, Naseer Anis Shaikh, 35, Sajjan Mehbul Shaikh, 34, and Saudagar Shamsher Shaikh, 32, had planned the heist on the midnight after July 11 at SBI’s Tembhurni branch at Solapur. However, they were unsuccessful in breaking into the strongroom of the bank where lockers containing cash, gold jewellery and other valuables of customers that were kept. However, their act had been captured on CCTV cameras. The next day, staff realised attempts had been made to enter the strongroom. Security camera footage revealed the attempt made to rob the bank the previous night. Amruddin had posed as a daily wage labourer, while Naseer pretended to be a coconut vendor, while Sajjan and Saudagar claimed to be fishermen. Police said the accused had rented a flat in May opposite the bank to conduct a recce. The room was leased on the pretext of conducting business of selling mangoes from the premises. This was the modus operandi of the accused to obtain flats on rent near banks they planned to rob. The accused have been arrested for lurking house-tresspass or house-breaking by night in order to commit offence (Section 457), theft in dwelling house (Section 380) and punishment for attempting to commit offences punishable with imprisonment for life (Section 511) of the IPC. The accused are natives of Sahebganj, Jharkhand. According to Dilip Sawant, Deputy Commissioner of Police (crime branch), “We had received a tip-off from the Solapur crime branch that the accused were hiding in Mumbai. We assisted the Solapur police in tracing the accused. On Friday morning, the accused were arrested from Masjid Bunder. The accused had failed to break open the strongroom at the bank and were captured on the CCTV cameras installed in the area where the lockers were kept. The remaining investigation will be conducted by the Solapur crime branch.”

According to police, the accused are part of an interstate gang conducting heists especially in SBI and other banks across the country. The accused have been handed over to the Solapur crime branch. A FIR was registered by the Tembhurni police at Solapur.