Kolkata: A former group-D employee of a bank and his wife were arrested, and another individual was detained, in connection with a robbery at the Batanagar branch of the bank last Friday. Of the Rs 73 lakh stolen cash, Rs 66 lakh has been recovered. All the stolen gold has also been recovered.
The incident had come to light last Monday, sparking outrage among local customers of the bank and led to widespread protests. Senior officials, including DIG (Presidency Range) Akash Magaria and SP (Diamond Harbour), visited the site to reassure customers that the money in their lockers was untouched and secure. However, a substantial amount of gold and cash was stolen from the vault.
Investigation revealed that there was no forced entry. The locks on the main gate, rear gate, lockers and vaults were not broken, indicating the use of duplicate keys. The bank's alarm system was professionally deactivated, and the CCTV footage was tampered with — the CCTV connection was cut and the DVR storing the footage was removed.
From the beginning, cops suspected the involvement of someone associated with the bank and a review of footage from nearby CCTV cameras revealed the presence of former group-D employee Arif Hossain, who had been terminated two months earlier due to misconduct with a customer. A raid at his house unearthed a portion of the stolen money. Further searches at a relative's house uncovered a significant amount of cash and gold.
According to cops, Hossain and his second wife Robina Bibi entered the bank with duplicate keys after it closed on Friday. Magaria confirmed the arrests but said the investigation is ongoing.