Divesh Kumar Singh and his three associates had planned the bank robbery 15 days prior to committing the crime on Monday, said the Soladevanahalli police.
Singh, Prem Kumar Sahu and Vikas Kumar Gupta had conducted recces, even visiting Corporation Bank’s Chikkabanavara branch three times on the pretext of opening an account.
It was the fourth suspect, Imran, who sourced the gun from a Bihar contact. While Singh went inside the bank, Sahu and Gupta kept a watch outside.
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After the robbery, in which bank customer Muralidhar was fatally shot, the three hired an autorickshaw to reach an Upparpet lodge where they divided the loot.
Singh joined Acharya Engineering College in 2010 to pursue a diploma in mechanical engineering but dropped out. The other three are pursuing the same course in the college, living in the same hostel, the police said.
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Meanwhile, the Muralidhar’s family and local residents laid a siege to the bank, disrupting its operations on Tuesday morning, demanding compensation and voicing their outrage that the bank had no security personnel posted, an eyewitness said.
The protesters calmed down only after the bank’s general manager, Giridhar, offered a Rs. 3 lakh compensation to Muralidhar’s family.
Joint Commissioner of Crime (West) Pronab Mohanty said that there was not even a panic button in the bank. He added that the siren went off much later after the shooting. However, the police were helpless as it was up to the bank to step up its security.
Mr. Giridhar said that the bank had followed all Reserve Bank of India guidelines and only the head office could decide on posting security guards.