Reconnaissance, map of the bank, hole and breaking into the locker… full details of the gang of thieves who stole only gold, not cash

Security breach at Lko’s Bank: “If bank lockers aren’t safe, where can we go,” locker holders

This biggest money heist that took place in the Indian Overseas Bank in Chinhat area of ​​Lucknow had put the police in tension. In short, a gang of thieves had made holes in two walls of the bank overnight and stole jewellery worth crores from the locker room.

Lucknow : Thieves broke into 42 lockers in a bank in Lucknow, the capital of UP, and stole jewellery and cash worth crores of rupees. Now it has come to light that the police reached those thieves through just one 18-second call. Because of that 18-second call, it was revealed that these thieves were from the neighbouring state of Bihar. In fact, out of all the calls recorded that night from the mobile tower near the bank, only one call was from outside. Through which this money heist was revealed.

Two holes were made in the wall of the bank
This biggest money heist that happened in the Indian Overseas Bank situated in Chinhat area of ​​Lucknow had put the police in tension. In short, a gang of thieves had made holes in two walls of the bank overnight and stole jewellery worth crores from the locker room and after this incident, questions were being raised from the security of the bank to the law and order of the state.

This is how the thieves were caught

But a call of just 18 seconds not only revealed the case within 24 hours, but the police shot dead one of the accused related to the incident. Along with injuring two accused, a total of 5 were also arrested. But how did the police track this call of 18 seconds and how did they reach the culprits with the help of this small call, this story is no less surprising.

Pictures of the thieves were captured in the CCTV camera
On receiving the news of a bank break-in on the intervening night of 21st and 22nd December, the police had reached the crime scene. Although the thieves had tried to disconnect the alarm and CCTV camera wires before entering the bank, but coincidentally, despite this effort of the thieves, one CCTV camera remained active. And the pictures of the thieves kept getting captured in it. Apart from this, the police also got some pictures of the thieves on the road outside the bank. Through which the police was trying to reach the thieves. But despite all efforts, it was difficult to find out their identity.
The police searched 5 thousand numbers
In such a situation, the police decided to take the dump data of all the active mobile numbers present in the area. And started scanning the active numbers from 12 o’clock at night to 8 o’clock the next day. In this effort, the police examined about 5 thousand numbers. At exactly 7 o’clock in the morning, the activity of one number alerted the police. Actually, the numbers of the place where this incident took place are connected to the tower of the High Court.
A call was made at 7 in the morning
That night, many numbers from Bihar were active here, which were switched off after reaching close to the crime scene. So these numbers were on the radar. One of these numbers was such that it was switched on at 7 in the morning and a call was made from this number from Lucknow to Asarganj in Munger district of Bihar. Incidentally, this call was of just 18 seconds and after this the phone was switched off again. But with this call of just 18 seconds, the police not only traced the location of this phone, but also caught the owner of this mobile and the ringleader of the gang, Sobind Kumar, near Jalsetu Tiraha in Lucknow.

Gang leader Sobind killed in encounter
Sobind made this call to a relative in Bihar to tell him about his well being. But this call became a noose around the neck of not only him but his entire gang. However, according to the police, after this Sobind and other goons of his gang tried to escape and in this process they also fired at the police. Not only did Sobind lose his life due to the police bullet, in this encounter one of Sobind’s associates got injured, while a total of 2 were caught.

8 kg gold and silver recovered

While before this, in another encounter on the ring road, along with injuring one accused of this case, the police had arrested a total of three more accused. That is, if seen, now the police has almost solved this case and recovered about 8 kg gold and silver jewellery. The police has currently arrested most of the criminals by killing the kingpin of this case, but it is an important aspect that how did these criminals choose this branch of Chinhat as their target?

The thieves wanted to melt the gold by taking it to Bihar

If sources are to be believed, the criminals had targeted this bank because it is close to Lucknow Ayodhya Highway and further this road is connected to Purvanchal Expressway. This gang of Bihar knew that after robbing the bank, they can first run away to Ballia via Purvanchal Expressway and then from there to Patna. But they were also afraid that if they leave immediately, they can be caught in the search. Therefore, after the burglary, they decided to stay around Chinhat for a few hours. But by then, due to the mistake of making a phone call, their location was traced. The intention of the robbers caught was to take the stolen gold not to UP but directly to Bihar and melt it. So that the chances of getting caught could be minimized.

How did the thieves get the map of the bank?

However, the one question that has still confused the Lucknow police is how did these thieves know the layout of this bank? The way the thieves broke into the bank from the back is shocking. Because looking at the back of the building, it is difficult to guess which wall to break into that will lead directly into the bank, because that wall is not visible from outside. Moreover, if they broke in from the front, they would have had to cover a distance of about 80 feet to reach the locker, while if they did it from the back, they had to cover a distance of 25 feet. That is, they had an idea that it is easier to reach the locker room from the back.

This is how the crime was carried out

In such a situation, the question is whether any bank employee helped these thieves in this matter? The police has not completely ruled out this possibility at the moment. If the police is to be believed, a total of 7 thieves arrived at this bank on Saturday night in two cars and some bikes. They left the cars on the main road itself. Four out of seven thieves reached the back side of the bank and from there made a hole in the wall and entered inside. One of them kept watch outside, while three thieves entered inside. After entering inside, these three first damaged the CCTV cameras and the alarm system installed in the bank and then started their work.

The thieves broke only 42 out of 90 lockers

After seeing the crime scene, the police told that the thieves had brought electric cutters with them, with which they cut 42 out of 90 lockers of the bank one by one. And the thieves took about four hours to do this work. The fact that detailed recce was done before the theft is not only being inferred by looking at the entry point of the thieves in the bank, but also by looking at their method of cutting the lockers. Although the thieves targeted only 42 out of 90 lockers, they did not even touch the cash box present in the locker room. In which about 12 lakh rupees were kept. Actually, the thieves had an idea that after the work on the last working day on Friday, the cash would have been sent from the bank to the main branch, whereas this is not the case with the lockers. Therefore, the thieves left the cash box and directly targeted the lockers.

DGP admitted – the security system of the bank was not foolproof

However, this is not the first time that this bank has been targeted by thieves. Even before this, small incidents of theft have taken place in this bank. But perhaps the bank administration did not learn a lesson from it. Although there is a provision of concrete as well as iron sheets from the floor to the walls of the locker room, but there is nothing like that here. Perhaps this is the reason why the DGP of UP himself admitted that the security system in the bank was not as it should have been

Some thieves are still absconding with goods worth lakhs

However, after this money heist in the bank, the customers have lost their senses. They are not able to understand what will happen to their lifelong savings now? However, the bank officials have asked their customers to keep their trust and have said that they have faith in the police action. For now, Lucknow police has solved the case, but four criminals of this gang are still absconding with goods worth lakhs. No one knows when the police will get hold of those jewelry and valuables. Whether they will get it or not.