In a major heist, miscreants made away with valuables worth over Rs.4.77 crore, including Rs. 81.14 lakh in cash, from the strong room of Manappuram Finance office in Chikkamagaluru town after drilling the RCC roof. The incident happened early morning on Sunday, however, it came to light only in the evening, when neighbours noticed the RCC roof.
C. Madhusudan, a branch manager, told The Hindu , “The police are analysing the CCTV camera footage. As per the recordings, drilling of the roof began around 2 a.m. on Sunday and the robbers left by 5 a.m.” He said nobody could have notice the drilling as there are no houses in the neighbourhood. “Our office is surrounded by private offices. There are no houses in the locality and thus no one noticed the drilling.”
The office was closed on Sunday. “The miscreants have drilled the roof and also cut the iron rods beneath the roof to land inside the strong room,” the manager said. The almirahs were broken and 13.149 kilograms of gold ornaments and cash was taken away. The gold ornaments were pledged by the customers for loans.
Mr. Madhusudan has filed a complaint with Chikkamagaluru Town Police. Senior police officers including SP K. Annamalai visited the spot. The SP has formed a team to investigate the case.
