CHITTOOR: At least 17 kg gold and cash were allegedly stolen from the strong room of Andhra Bank’s Yadamarri branch in the district. With no sign of break-in or forcible entry, police suspect insider job behind the theft.
The bank was located near Amara Raja Digital City along the Bengaluru-Chittoor highway in Yadamarri mandal, 10 km from Chittoor town. According to deputy superintendent of police (Chittoor) Eeshwar Reddy, the bank officials noticed the missing gold and cash from the strong room on Monday and alerted the police. “We inspected the scene of offence and found that all the locks of the doors and even the shutter were intact. There was no sign of any break-in or forcible entry,’’ he said.
He added that it was evident that the strong room was opened by using the master keys. “The bank was closed on Friday evening. On Saturday, the manager was the only one who came to the bank, stayed till 1 pm before leaving for home. The bank was opened only on Monday morning,’’ the police official said.
Though it was reported that 17 kg gold and `2.66 lakh in cash were missing, the police official said they were yet to ascertain the exact missing property. “There are several people who have pledged gold with the bank but some might have taken back their gold. The computers are not working properly,’’ he said.
The DSP further added that the hard disc of the closed-circuit cameras installed on the premises was missing, making their job complicated to identify the culprits behind the theft of the gold jewellery and cash.“It is a clear case of an insider job,’’ he said adding a case has been registered.