Allahabad bank burgled, 16 lockers found broken
ALLAHABAD: In a burglary at the UCO Bank’s main branch in Civil Lines on Sunday night, 16 lockers were found broken open and valuables missing from there, police said. The bank staff discovered the burglary when they reached the bank after three-day holiday on Tuesday.
ALLAHABAD: In a burglary at the UCO Bank’s main branch in Civil Lines on Sunday night, 16 lockers were found broken open and valuables missing from there, police said. The bank staff discovered the burglary when they reached the bank after three-day holiday on Tuesday morning. They at once informed police about it.
Soon cops from Civil Lines police station as well as senior police officials reached the spot and later also summoned dog squad and forensic experts. The CCTV footage revealed two burglars with covered faces entered the bank after cutting the window iron grill at the back of the building at around 12:30am on Sunday night.
SSP Akash Kulhary said the burglars used gas cutters to break the strong room to reach the safe vault which they failed to open. However, they managed to break open 16 lockers out of over 300 and decamped with valuables that bank customers had kept there, he said.
“The bank customers are still to be informed about the incident and the exact cost of stolen valuables will be known after their arrival,” the SSP added. “The STF has been roped in and help is being taken from police of other states and cities where similar burglaries have taken place recently. The modus operandi of the burglars is being scrutinised to identify the gang involved in the crime,” he said.
During investigation, it emerged that the burglars disabled smoke detectors and also cut wires of seven CCTV cameras installed in the bank soon after they entered the building. However, two persons were spotted breaking the strong room in the footages of one of the eight CCTV cameras that was still functioning. The burglars remained in the bank for several hours. The bank branch remains unguarded in the night and perhaps the alarm at the bank was also defunct. Bank’s chief manager Mayank Singh admitted that no security guard is deployed at the branch on night duty.
The police recovered a gas cutter cylinder, a petromax cylinder, cutters, screwdrivers, pliers of different sizes from the bank, the SSP said.
IG Ramit Sharma also visited the scene. He said a list of bank employees was sought from the branch manager and that they would be questioned in this regard soon.
“Investigations suggest that the burglars had done a recce of the bank before carrying out the burglary,” the IG added. The bank’s chief manager said the branch officials were contacting the customers whose lockers had been broken.