Bank robbery refers to the act of stealing money or valuable assets from a bank by threatening and possibly using violence. Robbery and dacoity may be easy, but more often than not, the criminals are apprehended, and the stolen goods are recovered. Given the wealth available, banks have a high incentive to rob or pull off a heist, but security measures are also rather high.
In the case of bank robberies and heists, however, most cases are not reported to the media for two reasons.
- The reports disrupt any plans made by police and security officials to apprehend the robbers.
- To prevent prospective thieves and robbers from gaining access to security details and prior plans.
Legal Responsibilities
Legal Responsibilities of the Banking and Finance Sector:
The Banking and Finance sector is highly regulated with oversight and guidance from government regulators and through self-regulatory organisations. Industry professionals and government regulators regularly engage in identifying sector vulnerabilities and take appropriate protective measures, including sanctions or institutions that do not consistently meet standards. Numerous laws have been enacted that focus on examining the operations of financial institutions.
The Bank Protection Act (BPA) of 1968 mandates minimum-security measures for protection against robbery, burglary, and larceny, primarily. These measures include a method of identifying suspects; CCTV systems are typically applied for this requirement. Other security measures are devices to protect cash, an alarm system, and lighting, among other measures.
Bank Robberies in India
The world over the release of well-scrited heist movies draws millions to the cinema. Oftentimes these flicks research real robberies or even have the perpetrators as consultants. Robbery is a crime but in each country, there is always an infamous heist that is etched in the memory of the people. While digging the tunnel, breaking the locker, and mapping a robbery might sound like a movie script, these things have been used to execute heists in real life. Here are some most cinematic robberies that happened in India-
Chelambra Bank
The South Malabar Gramin Bank’s Chelambra Bank robbery of Rs.80 Million is considered to be the most sensational bank robbery in India. The band of robbers dug a hole in the floor of the bank and stole approximately 80 kilograms of gold and cash of 50 lakh, as reported by a source.
The group of four robbers rented out a restaurant on the floor of a building. Right on top of the restaurant, there was the South Malabar Gramin Bank. The Robbers shut the restaurant down and started working on the renovation. To cover tracks they bought some items of furniture and construction materials. The robbers then proceed to dig a hole on the roof, which would open up, in the vault of the bank. The estimated robbery was worth Rs.80 million. The Police were able to track the accused and recovered approximately 80% of the stolen amount.
Punjab National Bank
In the case of the Punjab National Bank Robbery, the robbers dug up a 125-foot-long tunnel to a bank in Sonepat district and broke into 77 lockers decamping with cash and other assets approximately worth Rs.100 crore, as reported by a source.
In this Incident, the robbers dug the tunnel to the bank from a nearby unoccupied house over the weekend. The incident came to light on next day morning when the bank was opened after a holiday. The robbery was carried out on the intervening night of Saturday and Sunday.
The Sonepat’s Superintendent of Police blamed the bank authorities for not following proper norms mandatory for the storage place where lockers are kept as the floor of the locker rooms whose constructions are made up of ordinary materials which were easily punctured by the robbers. Almost all the valuables assets were recovered, but most of the cash was not recovered as reported by a source.
Bank in Ghaziabad
The Incident was held in Punjab National Bank’s Modinagar branch in Ghaziabad. In this incident, the robbers drilled a two-foot-wide hole through a wall of the bank and stole valuable assets and cash worth of crore rupees from lockers during the weekend. The culprits also took a double-barrel gun with them, as reported by a source.
The incident came to light after the bank reopened on Monday when one of the bank officials saw light streaming from the hole in the locker room. Reports suggest that the robbers hacked the hole six feet above the steel lockers. Robbers got into 30 lockers out of the total of 435 ones available at the bank.
Bank of Baroda
The robbery took place in the Bank of Baroda of approximately Rs. 3.43 crore. Robbers rented a space next to the bank under the cover of running a small grocery shop. The aim was to dig a tunnel that would lead to bank vaults.
It took the robbers four months to finish the digging works. The underground path was 25 feet long. In total, 225 safe deposit boxes were robbed and the total value of cash and assets stolen was Rs.3.43 crore, as reported by a source.
State Bank of India
The incident took place in the State Bank of India. Robbers robbed the Total of Rs.1.35 crore, as reported by a source.
It has been noted that the robbers made their way into the bank’s core facility by breaking it from a small ventilator which made it possible for the alarms to go off.
Disclaimer
Display of any trademarks, tradenames, logos and other subject matters of intellectual property belong to their respective intellectual property owners. Display of such IP along with the related product information does not imply ‘Mamulkar.com’ partnership with the owner of the Intellectual Property or issuer/manufacturer of such products.
Explore more on mamulkar.com!