An employee of A.P. Mahesh Cooperative Urban Bank, along with his wife and son, turned out to be the kingpin in the sensational burglary that occurred in the bank’s A.S. Rao Nagar branch a few days ago.
The police nabbed M. Brahma Chary (50), his wife Lalitha and son Veda Virat and recovered 15 kg gold jewellery worth over Rs. 4.5 crore, Cyberabad Police Commissioner C.V. Anand told reporters here on Tuesday. Chary and his son Virat were working as gold appraisers in Mahesh Bank and Axis Bank, respectively.
The family, hailing from Warangal district, was staying at Krushinagar in Nagole. The visuals of Chary captured during daytime in surveillance cameras installed inside the bank enabled the police to detect the case. In the footage, the police officials noticed Chary taking the original keys of the bank shutter, doors and strong room from the chambers of a senior accountant. Of the 10 keys, he managed to prepare nine duplicate keys.
At around 11 p.m. on November 28, Chary entered the bank by opening the shutter and other doors using false keys prepared by him. He first disconnected power supply to the CCTVs and opened the strong room doors with a false key and later cut the grill with a cutting machine. He then broke open the almirah door and stole 15 kg gold ornaments worth over Rs. 4.5 crore.
After the crime, he met his wife and son at Uppal crossroads and handed over the stolen property to them to conceal it at his sister’s house at Madhapur village in Bommalaramaram in Nalgonda. He returned home in an auto rickshaw. Chary melted 10 tolas of stolen gold at Pot Market in Secunderabad and ordered for new ornaments apart from pledging five tolas at different places, said Mr. Anand.
While committing the robbery, he covered his face with a mask to prevent police from identifying him. He also threw chilli powder inside the bank to prevent police dogs from sniffing clues.
Incidentally, when the police started searching for clues at the bank, Chary stood near a medical shop and on seeing the police dog, he escaped from the spot. A few minutes later, the dog stood in front of the medical shop after visiting the bank premises.
Police inquires revealed that Chary had discontinued SSC and learnt goldsmith work. He later started his own business in his native place at Janagaon in Warangal district. After his marriage, he came to the city and started goldsmith business at Jaipuri Colony in Nagole. He later started working in Mahesh Bank as a gold appraiser, the police official said.
He faced financial problems after performing his second daughter’s marriage in 2010. He was also leading a lavish life. As his earnings were not sufficient, he decided to commit the theft and hatched a plan with his family members.
After selecting the bank where he was working, he minutely studied the loopholes of the security system. He took advantage of the bank staff’s negligence during lunch hours and took the original keys from the chambers of the senior accountant to prepare duplicates, the police added.
