The Vijayawada police suspect that gangs from Tamil Nadu may be involved in Thursday’s cash snatching case.
Two motorbike-borne men snatched Rs.7.99 lakh from a person in broad daylight on the Bandar Road on Thursday and fled.
Deputy Commissioner of Police M. Ravi Prakash told The Hindu that based on the modus operandi it was suspected that gangs from places such as Thiruthani and Vellivakkam in Tamil Nadu may be involved in the crime.
Similar case last year
Last year, there was a similar case near Axis Bank at Patamata, in which a gang from Tamil Nadu was involved, he said.
“When these gangs strike they do it in a sequence. There was a similar case in Guntur on Wednesday, where a duo made good with Rs. 14.5 lakh from a person,” said the DCP.
Thursday’s incident occurred at about 11 a.m. when K. Padmanabha Rao (60), a resident of Patamata Lanka, withdrew the amount from State Bank of India, Labbipet branch, and was crossing the road where he had parked his bike.
According to Assistant Commissioner of Police (Central Zone) D.V. Nageswara Rao, the moment he crossed the divider, two persons came zipping down on a motorbike and snatched the bag containing cash. “Rao was holding the bag tightly and was a few feet behind his accompanying friend.
He fell on the road when they tried to snatch the bag and also got dragged for a few feet before losing grip,” said the ACP.
The SHO of Machavaram Police Station and the investigating officer, Ch. Muralikrishna, informed The Hindu that Mr. Padmanabha Rao had drawn the cash for registration purpose of land at Kankipadu.
No CC cameras outside
The police are verifying the photographs of offenders involved in similar cases in East Godavari, Visakhapatnam and West Godavari districts.
According to the police, the bank did not install CC cameras outside, despite a notice being served to all banks after last year’s Axis Bank case.
The DCP pointed out that cameras placed outside actually give vital clues than the ones installed inside.
