TIRUPATI: Police seem to have achieved a major breakthrough in the bank robbery at Srikalahasti. Unidentified miscreants stole Rs 5 lakh cash and gold and silver ornaments worth Rs 80 lakh from the private finance bank late on Thursday.
The miscreants, armed with knives, entered Fincare Small Finance Bank around 10.40 pm while two employees were working late. The English-speaking thieves reportedly threatened the bank clerk to open the locker room, and then decamped with the cash and jewellery pledged by customers.
They also stole CCTV cameras from the bank. Based on a complaint given by the staff, Srikalahasti DSP Viswanath visited the bank. Police teams probing the robbery case, have reportedly found the involvement of a top bank official behind the robbery. According to sources, he had plotted the bank robbery to escape from audit.
It is learnt that the official got loan from the bank by pledging fake jewellery. He had hired three persons from Chennai to execute the plot and steal the fake jewellery he pledged to come out clean in the audit. He is said to have confessed to plotting the robbery during police interrogation.