Belagavi: A gang of robbers diverted the attention of a cashier and made away with Rs 12 lakh in cash from a bank located in the heart of Belagavi market in broad daylight on Thursday.
The incident happened at Bank of Maharashtra, when lots of customers were present and the bank staff was busy with transactions.
Around 11 am five miscreants entered the bank and approached the bank staff at different desks, posing as customers and were around for nearly an hour.
Later they began inquiring about bank's facilities with the cashier and one of them got into the section where cashier and other clerks were sitting.
He then reached the cashier's cabin and got into a conversation with him. As the cashier's attention got diverted, the man was able to pick up six bundles of notes, amounting to Rs 12 lakh, kept on the cashier's desk. The entire movement of customers in the bank, including the five robbers, was recorded in the CCTV installed inside the bank. After holding wads of notes in both hands, the unidentified person moved straight to the entrance and left. The other four, who were waiting for him inside the bank, followed him.
Minutes later, the cashier noticed the missing bundles on his desk and confirmed about the missing cash after counting all the available bundles of notes at the cabin.
The bank officers lodged a complaint with Khadebazaar police station immediately. According to police sources, the CCTV footage was being scrutinized to identify the faces of all five miscreants.
Deputy Commissioner of Police Amarnath Reddy went to the bank and later formed a police team to nab the culprits.
