Kakinada: ATM robbery accused arrested, Rs 2.96 lakh recovered
Kakinada, Sept 17 (TNT): Kakinada rural police have arrested a 40-year-old ex-convict in connection with the alleged robbery of Rs 4.35 lakh from an ATM at the District Cooperative Central Bank branch in Gollapalem village, police said on Thursday.
Rural Circle Inspector Damera Chaithanya Krishna said the accused, Samanasa Gollaiah of Andrangi village in Kajuluru mandal, was arrested on Wednesday evening and would be produced before a court for judicial remand.
According to police, Gollaiah conducted a recce at the bank on September 5 by posing as a customer and allegedly noticed that there was no security at night.
He allegedly entered the bank that night by lifting a window grill at the rear and ransacked the cash counters.
As he could not find cash at the counters, he allegedly broke open the ATM shutter lock and damaged the ATM using a crowbar before fleeing with Rs 4.35 lakh.
The bank manager discovered the burglary on Monday when he arrived to open the premises and found the ATM shutter lock broken and the cash counters ransacked.
He subsequently lodged a complaint with Gollapalem police.
Following the incident, which caused concern in the village and district, Kakinada rural SP Bindu Madhav ordered a special investigation and constituted two teams under the supervision of in-charge Sub-Divisional Police Officer Dr Mahanti Kishore Kumar.
One team was headed by CI Chaithanya Krishna and the other by Crime CI Venkata Trinath.
The district clues team was also deployed to collect evidence.
Based on the available clues and the modus operandi, police apprehended Gollaiah, who was allegedly involved in 13 other criminal cases, the CI said.
Police recovered Rs 2.96 lakh of the stolen cash from the accused, he added.
Following the incident, the SP has advised banks and commercial establishments to deploy security guards and install CCTV cameras.
He also directed them to ensure that existing CCTV systems remain operational and undertake repairs wherever necessary.
The SP appreciated CIs Chaithanya Krishna and Trinath for detecting the case, police said.
TNT TMR
