MP: Youth breaks into bank; hangs self after locals raise alarm

Satna: A 22-year-old youth broke into a bank at Bela village in the district, but allegedly committed suicide after local residents raised an alarm and gathered outside the bank to catch hold of him, police said today.

"The youth, Dharmendra Singh Patel, cut open the shutter of Allahabad Bank's branch office in the village last night. The bank is located on the ground floor of a two-storey building," Rampur Baghelan police station Inspector Animesh Dwivedi said.

"When Patel was trying to break the bank's currency chest, the landlord of the building living upstairs woke up due to the noise," he added.

According to an eyewitness, after the alarm was raised, people living in the vicinity gathered outside the bank with sticks in their hands.

Dwivedi said, "After getting information around 2.40 am, a police team reached the spot. When police peeped through the window, body of a man was found hanging from the ceiling."

However, thinking that more people could have been holed up inside the bank, police waited till morning to get a clear picture. "When we were sure that there was nobody else inside, we entered it," the Inspector said.

After going through the CCTV footage, police found that Patel, who had covered his face with a small towel, had entered the bank by cutting open the shutter.

However, he might have panicked when he came to know about local residents waiting to nab him. He used the same towel to hang himself from the ceiling fan, the officer added.

The body of the deceased was handed over to the family members after post-mortem.

Asked whether Patel had entered the bank with the intention of stealing new currency notes, he said he cannot divulge any more details as the investigation was underway.

The inspector said the deceased was not a history-sheeter, but had been picked up once for questioning in a theft case three years ago. Further investigation is on.