Rs 15 cr heist in Bokaro SBI branch, diamond, gold, cash stolen

Shashank Shekhar

Bokaro ( Jharkhand) :  In sensational bank heist, a gang of at least seven youth, whose act has been recorded on CCTV, took away gold and diamond ornaments along with scores of gold biscuits and cash worth more than Rs 15 crore cutting the `most  secured’ claimed 76 bank lockers belonging to 72 customers of State Bank of India, administrative building, in the heart of Bokaro Steel City at Naya Mor leaving police and bank officials stunned.

The heist started  on  December 23 night from 11.45 pm ( this was the time when 15 CCTVs connections were disrupted in which pictures of 4 masked youth have been found) and the bobbers used gas cutters to cut 76  lockers out of the total 422 and took away all the gold, diamond, precious gems and even  cash kept inside them. The bank heist was noticed on December 26, 2017, morning, when the bank opened. The criminals left all silver items which were found scattered on ground choosing only precious items.

Jharkhand ADG, CID, Prashant Kumar Singh, who rushed to Bokaro Steel City on December 27 along with IG M L Meena, has charged the State Bank of India with being  negligent as its branch did not have single security guard nor did the bankers even informed Bokaro police despite knowing that the bank would remain closed for 3 days and opened on December 26. “The functioning of bank officials have been found to be highly irresponsible and careless,” stated the ADG.

Though sniffer of CISF were ferried from Dhanbad but it did not lead to much  breakthrough in the case though the CCTVs installed at next door petrol pump and an automobile company has recorded three youth with their faces covered moving in late evening hours near the bank in suspicious manner.

Bokaro SP Karthik S said that police had got few clues in the crime on which three teams of cops are working while he himself is monitoring the case. More than 6 persons have been detained by police for interrogation. “No one can deny involvement of few bank officials and local people who are aware of entire ‘in and out’ of the bank,” stated a DSP who is  investigating the case. The SBI on December 27 released  list of persons whose bank lockers had been broken.

The Bank has refused  to pay single penny to whose valuables have been stolen saying how would they know what had been kept in lockers and that the bank was only the custodian and unless the ornaments have been insured why should they pay.

Talking to this reporter on phone from Mumabi, a customer Shyamal Mitra said that his whole life’s earning has been stolen. “Where should one keep his precious items now when neither bank nor house is safe?”asked Mitra.