A 34-year-old man has been arrested for allegedly decamping with over ₹50 lakh after breaking into a bank from an adjoining under-construction building in east Delhi’s Farsh Bazar, the police said on Tuesday.
Six months ago, the bank officials had called him for renovation work at the strong room, which is inside the premises, they said.
The accused, Hariram, was wearing a helmet at the time of the crime to hide his identity. The police said another person, 39-year-old Kalicharan, was arrested in connection with the crime.
The accused are both residents of Vishwas Nagar.
On Monday at 10.15 a.m., the police received information regarding the burglary in a bank in Vishwas Nagar.
During preliminary probe, the police found that two holes were made — one into the server room of the bank and another in sthe trong room in the basement. The accused had fled with ₹55,03,330 cash from the vault, a senior officer said.
Teams were formed to collect details of frequent visitors, guards, contractual staff and of people who entered the locker room in the last six months, the police said.
A CCTV camera installed near an ATM located near an under-construction building, was found facing upward, the officer said.
“The direction of the camera was changed but it captured the palm and some portion of the face of the person,” he added.
During the probe, three prime suspects were apprehended by the police. Detailed analysis revealed that the person who tampered with the CCTV was Hariram.
“Hariram was then apprehended. He tried to mislead the police by saying that a person gave him ₹1,000 to change the direction of the camera but later confessed to the crime,” said DCP (Shahdara) R. Sathiyasundaram.
Delayed by lockdown
Hariram said when he was called for renovation work, he conducted a detailed recce of the place.
“He gathered all the information about the cash and possible entry and exit routes,” an officer said
He got access into the under-construction building by replacing old locks with new ones, the DCP added.
Hariram further revealed that his heist plan had been ready for last three months but could not do it due to the lockdown in the city.
As soon as he got an opportunity, he entered the under-construction building, made small holes there and another one in the strong room. He said he wanted to use the money for gambling.
On his instance, ₹54,48,730 was recovered from a house in the same area where he was working as a guard, and ₹49,200 from Kalicharan. The accused had spent the rest of the money.
Hariram, who comes from Madhya Pradesh, is a trained construction worker.
He lives in the city with his wife and two children.
Kalicharan has a small business and is also involved in illegal gambling activities, the police added.
