CHENNAI: Unidentified persons broke into a co-operative bank in neighbouring Tiruvallur and made away with over Rs 1 lakh from a steel almirah, in the wee hours of Tuesday.
Sources said that the burglar alarm installed in the main locker helped avert a major heist as officials rushed to the Periyankulam Co-operative Credit Society bank in Kadambathur following the text alerts they received on their mobiles from the system.
A huge amount of cash and jewellery stored in the locker remained intact as the burglars’ attempt was deterred by the alarm which went off when they attempted to tamper with its lock.
Recently, the bank’s secretary Duraisamy had made arrangements to install a special anti-theft security system which will be functioning with sensors fixed in the main locker. The system was designed in such a way that it would send out messages in case of any burglary attempt. Duraisamy and two other bank staff received the alerts on their mobile phones around 2.30 am.
The burglars had used crowbars to gain entry. They fled with the money kept in the almirah after their attempts to break open the locker went in vain. Following the complaint from Duraisamy, the Tiruvallur taluk police rushed to the spot.
A sniffer dog was pressed into service and forensic experts lifted several fingerprints from the crime scene.