ALAPPUZHA: Shyju, Shybu and Shibu are not siblings or even distant relatives. The trio is the accused in the Karuvatta Cooperative Bank robbery in which 5.43 kg of gold and Rs 4.43 lakh in cash were stolen during the heist during the Onam holidays.Shyju alias Albin Raj, a serial thief hailing from Kattakada in Thiruvananthapuram, had toiled for three nights before he managed to break open the strongroom of the bank situated at TB Junction. After the operation, Shyju was decent enough to share the loot with his two associates, based on the respective roles they played in the operation — much like the character played by Prithviraj in the 2014 release Sapthamashree Thaskaraha.
Mavelikkara native Shybu, who stayed on rent near Karuvatta, identified the target and provided all assistance for the operation. Shibu, from Kattakada, stole a Maruti Omni van from Kollam in which the gas cylinders used to power the gas cutters were brought to the crime scene. It was also the gang’s getaway vehicle and Shibu ensured that it was abandoned at the same place from where he had stolen it. A cheeky Shyju managed to slink away without leaving any evidence.
The special investigation team (SIT) probing the case managed to get a major breakthrough when it identified the gang behind the heist and nabbed Shybu and Shibu on Monday after a 39-day-long operation. Besides, the investigators recovered the loot disposed of by Shybu from a jewellery shop in Thiruvananthapuram.
District police chief P S Sabu said the first accused in the case is a notorious thief involved in several robberies in Kerala and Tamil Nadu. “ The fact that he doesn’t use a phone is hindering efforts to locate his hideout. But we are confident of nabbing him soon. The hard work put in by the probe team provided a breakthrough. The thieves looted gold and money and even the hard disk of the bank’s CCTV cameras. A phone call from around 15 lakh calls, made by around 700 people who had earlier been involved in bank robberies in state, gave the vital lead to the SIT,” he said.
Shyju, who was freed from Thiruvananthapuram Central Jail in February last had called up a Haripad native — which turned out to be Shybu — the same month. On examination, police found that Shyju had called up Shybu and that the latter had also served time in prison in connection with a murder case. It provided the tip-off resulting in the arrest of the two accused. Shyju is an expert in welding. Meanwhile, Shybu sold the ornaments to a jewellery shop and using the money he brought land near Haripad in the name of his sister after paying around Rs 36 lakh.