Sathya Sai district Superintendent of Police S Satish Kumar on Thursday said police arrested an interstate offender and recovered gold ornaments and vehicles worth ₹5.54 crore in connection with a theft at a State Bank of India branch.
Addressing the media, the SP said the accused, Mohammad Ishrar Khan alias Iqrar (45), a resident of Salempur village in Karauli district of Rajasthan, was arrested under a warrant. Police seized 5,500 grams of gold ornaments valued at about ₹5.5 crore, a Honda City car worth ₹3.52 lakh and a motorcycle worth ₹48,000 from him.
The theft occurred in July 2025 at the State Bank of India branch in the Thumukunta Industrial Area under the Hindupur sub-division, within the limits of Hindupur Rural police station. A case was registered soon after the incident.
Police had earlier arrested the first accused, Anil Panwar, in August and seized 2 kg of gold worth about ₹2 crore, along with a car and a motorcycle used in the crime. Following further investigation, the second accused, Ishrar Khan, was tracked down in Rajasthan, leading to the recovery of an additional 3.5 kg of gold worth about ₹3.5 crore.
In total, police recovered 5,500 grams of gold ornaments worth ₹5.5 crore, seized a Honda City car (KA05 MJ 0597) valued at ₹3.52 lakh, and a Suzuki Gixxer motorcycle (TN38 CH 6386) valued at ₹48,000.
The SP said the accused were habitual interstate offenders involved in multiple bank robberies across the country. After serving jail terms, they resumed criminal activities following their release. Anil Panwar was earlier involved in a 2018 SBI bank robbery case at JNTU University in Anantapur and had served five years of imprisonment at the Coimbatore sub-jail in Tamil Nadu before his release in June.
Cases registered against the accused include Crime No. 268/2018 under Section 395 of the IPC at Anantapur I Town police station and Crime No. 36/2020 under Sections 457, 380 and 120(B) of the IPC at Kamachiknapalam police station in Tiruppur district, Tamil Nadu. In all, about 14 cases have been registered against them in different states.
Appealing to the public, the SP urged citizens to report suspicious activity promptly and advised homeowners and shopkeepers to install CCTV cameras to aid in crime detection and prevention.