The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh News : Another bank robbery in Tirupati; duo nabbed

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Aug 15, 2007
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Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

Another bank robbery in Tirupati; duo nabbed

Special Correspondent

TIRUPATI: Barely a month after their daring daylight robbery in the local branch of the Karur Vysya Bank, the same helmeted duo struck on Tuesday at the M.R. Palle branch of the Bank of India and fled the scene with a booty using the same modus operandi – fake bomb, threatening the bank staff with daggers, pistol and other deadly weapons. They were however soon tracked down by the police in a cinematic chase and the money recovered.

The pair had bolted with a booty of Rs. seven lakh from the Karur Vysya Bank branch leaving the police clueless about their identity. This time, they chose the newly opened branch of the Bank of India at a relatively desolate M.R. Palle area during lunch break to take advantage of the thin presence of the staff at that time.

As in the past, they moved into the branch with their helmets on. While one reportedly pulled the shutter down and placed a ‘bomb’ on a desk, the other pointed a gun at the head of the branch manager.

When the cashier expressed his inability to open the cash counter saying it got “automatically locked”, they smashed the glass-panes of the counter and forced the clerk to dump all the cash into their sacks.

Hot chase

The police said that all the stations in and around Tirupati were alerted and patrol on all roads intensified after they were informed about the heist by an advocate. As the caller indicated that the robbers were seen fleeing towards Renigunta, two SIs, one from within the town and the other from the Renigunta side, zeroed in on them at the railway gate.

The police overpowered the robbers with the help of passers-by. As their bag containing the weapons had reportedly fallen off in the chase, they had no arms to resist when the police and the public encountered them. The duo whose names were given as Rajesh Kumar and Suresh -- both natives of Renigunta -- were later remanded to judicial custody.

The police said they confessed to their role in the KVB heist too. Chittoor SP Sasidhar Reddy visited the scene.

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