Rs 4 crore worth of gold, cash robbed from bank

MAHBUBNAGAR: Burglars struck at the Grameena Vikas Bank located at Balanagar this weekend and walked away with huge cash and gold ornaments all worth Rs 4 crore. According to the manager of the bank, Venugopal Reddy, 13.5 kg of gold ornaments and Rs 14 lakh cash was found missing.
The police and the bank officials were not sure when the burglary took place, as the incident came to light only when the bank was opened on Monday morning after the weekend.Initially the burglars tried to gain entry through the main door, but due to the bank's proximity to the National Highway-44, they entered the premises from the rear-side side. They used gas cutters to remove the door and entered the bank.
They also dismantled the CCTV cameras and the server room to prevent their images from being captured. .
Hyderabad range DIG Shashidhar Reddy and SP D Nagendar Kumar visited the bank. Dog squads and clues teams were pressed into action. The Grameena Vikas Bank at Balanagar does not have a security guard and, ironically, is located close to the police station. The police said they were not aware of the burglary until the manager informed them about it.
The burglary caused anxiety among small farmers who mortgaged their gold ornaments at the bank to get agriculture loans. Bimla Naik of Nerelapally village said he had mortgaged 15 tolas of gold in two different accounts and obtained Rs 2 lakh loans in June.