Gang of 14 hoodwinks bank staff, Rs 20 lakh lost

AHMEDABAD: A gang of 14 persons, pretending to be account holders, struck at the Memnagar branch of the State Bank of India (SBI) in the Gurukul area of the city on Tuesday and slipped away with Rs 20 lakh.
On Tuesday afternoon, Gautam Chandulal Shah, a cashier, told the branch manager Hemant Choksi that 40 bundles, each comprising a hundred Rs 500 notes, were missing from the cash tray where he had put them.The bank staff then looked for the bundles in and around the premises, but did not find anything, reads the FIR lodged with Ghatlodia police station.
After this, the branch manager and other staff checked CCTV footage, and found that a man wearing a cap had put the entire cash tray, with Rs 20 lakh in it, into the bag he was carrying with him. Thirteen other persons who came as account holders, were seen leaving the bank with him.
Ghatlodia police sources said they suspect a gang is behind the heist. “These 14 persons, all between 40 and 45 years, came as customers and stood in different queues. One of them started raising queries with the cashier while another, standing in another queue beside him, took the cash in a matter of seconds and put it in his bag,” said a police official.
“When the 14 persons left the bank all of a sudden, there were only three customers left in the branch,” added the official.
No security at bank
Police sources said the bank did not deploy a security guard, which points to negligence by them. The bank nine staffers but no security guard. Besides, the incident came to light at around 1.45pm and the bank officials called the police control room only at 2.30pm. By then, the 14 persons had left the area, said a police official.