CHITTOOR: At least three masked men robbed a branch of Fincare Small Finance Bank in Srikalahasti town late on Thursday night. They decamped with gold and silver ornaments worth Rs 80 lakh and Rs 5 lakh cash after holding an employee at knifepoint, police said. When the miscreants broke into the branch around 10:40 pm, only two employees were working there to close the pending accounts.
The robbers conversed in English, and threatened the bank clerk to open the locker room, the police said, adding that even the recordings from the CCTV cameras were stolen. “I and another employee were working late to close the pending accounts. Around 10:40 pm, my co-worker went upstairs and I was alone when three masked men entered and threatened to open the locker. When I refused to do so, they tied me up and closed my mouth with my chunni, and grabbed the locker room keys. They stole the cash and gold ornaments kept in the lockers,” said Sravanthi, the bank clerk.
On being informed, DSP Viswanath and a team of police personnel rushed to the bank around 1 pm and started investigation. The police alerted all the check posts at the district and State borders. All lodges and hotels in Srikalahasti and Tirupati were being checked. DSP Viswanath said, “The final amount of the theft is yet to be ascertained by the banker. We have pressed the clues teams into service, and are also examining the CCTV footage in the vicinity, and at the entry/exit points of the town to identify the accused. Police teams have been deployed to carry out searches across the district,”said the DSP. ASP Vimala Kumari visited the branch road on Friday morning and inquired about the incident.