Burglars loot Rs 1 cr from HDFC Bank Kathua

Excelsior Correspondent
KATHUA, June 20: Burglars broke into a private bank in Kathua town and decamped with over Rs one crore cash, police said.
The incident took place at a branch of HDFC Bank in the Hatli Morh area on the intervening night of Sunday and Monday.

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The burglars entered the Bank from the rooftop and tied its security guard with an iron rod with a rope, Senior Superintendent of Police Kathua, R C Kotwal said.
The guard told police that the burglars cut open the box and stole the money, the SSP said.
The guard as well as his colleague who is performing duty during day time has been detained and bank employees are being questioned in connection with the burglary, Kotwal said, adding that a Special Investigation Team (SIT) has been constituted to probe the case.
CCTV footage of the bank is being scanned to identify the accused, he said.
A team of forensic experts also rushed to the bank for further investigation and to take finger prints.
The SSP Kathua also visited the Bank premises later in the evening to supervise the investigation. The SIT constituted by him will be headed by DySP headquarters, Shami Kumar under his supervision.
The police has detained both the security guards of the bank while it has also questioned the staff.
Reports said that the bank officials had kept money in the box when they are supposed to keep the cash either in Chest or safe. In case the same is not available in the branch then the cash has to be deposited in the Head Office of the Bank.
The guard who was tied by the burglars said that after they fled, he tried to untie himself and somehow he managed to free himself. Later he came out of the room and cried. The nearby residents rushed to the spot and they called police which also reached the spot at the same time. The police took the guard for questioning to Hatli Morh Police Post and later detained another guard also.
The burglars, who came over the roof top of an adjacent house broke the two doors of the bank with cutters before decamping with the money.
They also left Rs 19 lakh in cash on the roof top of the building while fleeing and the cash was later recovered by the police.
The guard was handling both Bank and its ATM single handed and he was not provided the gun for security also.