In a broad daylight bank heist, a man robbed the Federal Bank branch, Potta, Chalakudy in Kerala’s Thrissur district of approximately Rs 15 lakh by holding the staff at knifepoint at around 2 pm on Friday.
The bike-born robber entered the bank and forced the employees into a room brandishing a knife before smashing the glass counter to steal cash. The robber, who wore a helmet, jacket, mask, and gloves, took the cash available at the counter, put it in his backpack bag and fled the scene heading towards Thrissur.
While the authorities reported a loss of Rs 15 lakh, the police were yet to confirm the exact amount.
Although the cashier’s cabin was locked, the man broke it open, shattered the glass partition to steal the money, the police said. “From the CCTV footage obtained so far, the suspect took pocket roads after the crime instead of taking the National Highway. The robbery was conducted in less than three minutes indicating a kind of homework before the actual crime,” said a police officer.
The police are analysing the CCTV footage that clearly shows the robber arriving at the bank and committing the crime. The footage captures the robber threatening the bank staff and breaking the counter to access the cash.
Senior police officials have since arrived at the branch and issued an alert to all nearby police stations in an effort to track down the culprit even as a manhunt is underway.
It is assumed that the suspect has carried out a recce of the bank before planning robbing it as he was well aware of the lunch break timings, number of staff and the time when the bank is not so crowded.