CHENNAI: Three men fled with gold and cash worth around Rs 20 crore from an NBFC arm of a private bank in Arumbakkam in Chennai on Saturday afternoon. One of the accused is an employee of the bank, said the police. The suspects also destroyed the CCTV cameras inside the office.The heist took place at Fedbank Financial Services Limited, a subsidiary of Federal Bank that offers loans and provides mortgage services, on Razack Garden Main Road at SBI Officers Colony.
Police said, three men, including branch employee Murugan, were involved in the heist. Murugan was on leave on Saturday. Around 3pm, he and accomplices came on a bike and offered sedative-laced cool drinks to security guard Saravanan, who was sitting outside the branch. After the sedatives took effect, they dragged him inside.
Three staff were present at the branch, but one of them had stepped outside for break. The two remaining staff — branch manager K Suresh (30) from Dindigul and customer service executive R Vijayalakshmi (36) from KK Nagar — were present at the branch during the incident. The trio held them at knifepoint and snatched the locker room key from Suresh.
“The men locked Suresh and Vijalakshmi inside the toilet, along with the security guard, after snatching their mobile phones,” said a senior police officer, who also denied initial reports of suspects having guns. The trio stole 32 kg of gold and a few wads of currency notes from the locker. Quoting eyewitnesses, police said, they escaped on two bikes. The staff who was out on break later found the other employees inside the toilet and alerted police.Forensic teams lifted fingerprints and police checked CCTV footage from shops outside the bank. Five special teams have been formed to investigate the case.