Unidentified persons attempted to rob a cooperative bank at Kurthamogeru near Vittal here sometime over the weekend.
However, though the thieves came for the locker, they could not retrieve the gold and money stored in it. Shockingly, for a bank that has more than Rs. 2 crore in goods inside, there were no security arrangements for the weekend.
The Kurthamogeru branch of the Vittal Patnur Vyavasaya Seva Sahakari Bank Limited – which hands out farmer loans and gold loans – was locked by the employees around 1.45 p.m. on Saturday. However, when they returned to work on Monday morning, they found a window open. Vittal police said the thieves cut phone wires and computer cables at the bank, and attempted to remove the locker in the strong room. However, file marks on the lockers are testimony to the failed attempts, the police said.
The bank had no CCTV cameras or security guards posted.
Branch Manager Shrinivas Moulya, who filed the complaint, said Rs. 2 crore in gold and Rs. 2 lakh in cash were stored at the bank. “While we don’t have CCTV cameras, the sole security guard employed by us had taken two weeks off to go back to his hometown in Nepal,” he said.
Following the theft attempt, the bank will install cameras as well as sirens in the branch, he added.
Theft at house
Gold ornaments and cash, cumulatively worth Rs. 1.1 lakh, were stolen from a house at Katrigudde near Charmadi, Belthangady taluk early on Monday morning.
According to Belthangady police, between 2 a.m. and 4 a.m., when members of B.K. Mohammad’s house were asleep, unknown person(s) broke the lock of the door and ransacked the cupboards. A necklace, bracelet, and a pair of earrings – with a net of 41.25 grams of gold – and Rs. 5,000 in cash were stolen from the house.
Cow slaughter arrests
After the intervention of members from a local Hindu rightwing group, the police have arrested a person for running an illegal slaughter house at Kashipatna near Venoor on Sunday morning.
Abdul Shabir (34), a driver by profession, was arrested and 25 kg beef was seized from the premises of his house. Around 9.45 a.m., after a group of people gathered at the house, Venoor Police arrived to contain the situation. Apart from Shabir, the police have booked cases under the Cow Slaughter Act against four others – Latif, Ashraf, Hamid and Mayadi, all of who are absconding.
