YELLAPUR (UTTARA KANNADA): In a theft gone wrong, scared thieves who had gone to steal from a bank allegedly set the premises on fire, causing severe damage to documents and computers in the bank. There is no footage of the criminals either from inside the bank as CCTVs, their footage and digital TV recorder have been destroyed in the blaze.
In the early hours of Wednesday, the thieves broke open the windows of Karnataka Vikas Grameen Bank at Ummachgi in Yellapur tauk in Uttara Kannada district and gained entry. When they tried to open the vault, the siren started to ring. The thieves attempted to stop the alarm, but could not. Scared that they would be caught, the thieves set the bank on fire and fled from the spot, officials said.
People in the neighbourhood saw smoke billowing from the bank, and alerted bank officials, who called the police and fire and emergency service. The police found the window broken and CCTV and digital TV recorder severely damaged.
Geetha Patil told TNIE that the thieves might have tried to disconnect CCTV cameras, triggering a short-circuit that caused the fire.
‘CCTV footage inside the bank gutted’
“The entire CCTV footage inside the bank has been gutted. Computers and documents too have been destroyed. But we have some CCTV footage from outside where we can see a masked man -- possibly one of the miscreants. Our investigation is on,” Geetha Patil said.
Sirsi DySP Geetha Patil and Yellapur Police Inspector Ramesh Hanapur visited the spot and started the investigation based on a complaint filed by a bank official. “We are trying to figure out whether miscreants are from within the state or outside. Despite all their attempt, they could not open the strongroom,” an official said.