BELAGAVI
The Belagavi District Police arrested three people, including a staff member, for looting the District Central Bank Branch in Murgod near Saundatti. The robbery was committed on March 5.
Basavraj Hunshikatti (30), a clerk in the branch, and his associates, Santosh Kambar (31) and Girish Belwal (26) have been held on the charge of looting the bank of around Rs. 4.3 crore in cash and jewellery worth around Rs. 1.6 crore. Superintendent of Police Lakshman Nimbargi told journalists in Murgod on Sunday that the investigating team has recovered the valuables intact. The team recovered Rs. 4,20,98,400 in cash and three kilograms of gold and silver ornaments worth Rs. 1,63,72,220 from the gang.
A car and a motorcycle used for the crime have been seized. The Superintendent of Police had formed four teams led by Deputy Superintendent of Police Ramanagouda Hatti and other officers.
Basavraj Hunshikatti, main accused, is a resident of Toranagatti village near Ramdurg. He was a clerk in the branch. He had served as in-charge cashier during the lockdown. An avid reader of detective novels, he planned the heist well in advance. He had obtained duplicates of 17 keys of the shutter, doors and safe lockers.
He got his two associates Santosh Kalappa Kambar (31) of Yaragatti and Girish alias Yamanappa Laxman Belwal (26) of Jeevapur village to join him in the loot by promising them to pay Rs. 5 lakh each as their share in the bounty. He cut off the CCTV camera and alarm systems and used a hired car to transport the loot. He packed the cash and jewellery in plastic bags and buried them in his family’s sugarcane field in a nearby village, police sources said.
Investigation began on March 6, based on a complaint filed by branch manager Kallappa Yaligar. Studying the modus operandi , investigators suspected the involvement of an insider. “The cutting of CCTV cables and alarm cables gave us an insight of who may be involved. Finally, by observation of the character of the staff and the responsibilities held by them, we zeroed in on two people. The picture became clear after we spoke to them,’’ a member of one of the teams said.
“This case is significant as it is for the first time that the accused have been arrested and the stolen goods recovered intact in crime committed at DCC banks.. There have been five robberies in DCC bank branches in the last few years, but they were all closed as the accused could not be traced,” a senior police officer said.
