IGP, Eastern Range, B.R. Ravikanthe Gowda and other police officials taking a look at the gold ornaments recovered from the accused in the SBI Nyamati branch burglary case, in Davangere district.
| Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

The arrest of six persons, including some from Tamil Nadu, in connection with a theft six months ago of over 17 kg of gold valued at ₹13 crore from the Nyamati branch of the State Bank of India in Davangere district, has revealed that the accused had planned the heist for six to seven months by watching crime series on OTT and social media platforms.

Pledged gold ornaments were stolen from the Nyamati branch on October 28, 2024. Initial investigation revealed that the offenders had entered the bank through a window on the left side of the main hall after removing its iron grill, and one of the lockers in the strongroom had been opened with a gas cutter and emptied.

The offenders had also taken away the DVR containing all CCTV footage, and interestingly, had spread chilli powder all across the bank premises.

Investigation carried out on the basis of technical evidence helped the Davangere police to crack the case with the arrest of all the six accused and recovery of the stolen gold, said IGP (Eastern Range), Davangere, B.R. Ravikanthe Gowda.

Some natives of Madurai

All the accused arrested by the police, including the prime accused Vijaykumar, 30, are first-time offenders. Of the accused, Vijaykumar, his brother Ajay Kumar, 28, and his brother-in-law Paramananda, 30, are natives of Madurai in Tamil Nadu but were running a sweetmeat shop in Nyamati for the last few years.

The other accused are Abheesheka, 23, Chandru, 23, and Manjunath, 32, and they are natives of Nyamati.

Mr. Ravikanthe Gowda said that Vijaykumar had planned the heist in revenge as his loan application for ₹15 lakh and another by his brother were rejected by the bank.

During interrogation, the accused admitted watching crime series pertaining to bank robbery on OTT platforms and various social media platforms to plan the burglary.

Tools required for the crime like gas cutter, hand gloves, and other items were procured a few months in advance. Vijaykumar admitted watching the Money Heist crime series over 15 times and the accused also carried out drills at least three times to execute the plan perfectly.

Mr. Ravikanthe Gowda said that the accused carried out the burglary on October 26, 2024 and transported the stolen gold in a car that was parked 3 km away from the bank.

Interestingly, the accused had performed a special puja before and after the burglary and kept themselves aloof after carrying out the burglary. After the heist, they stayed back in Nyamati, carrying out their business as if nothing had happened, the IGP said.

In irrigation well

The prime accused had hidden the locker containing the stolen gold in a 30-ft irrigation well in Usalampatti town in Madurai district of Tamil Nadu.

The locker was retrieved with the help of swimmers. The gold that was pledged in different financial institutions in the name of Vijaykumar’s relatives and gold sold at various jewellery shops during the past five months had also been recovered.

“The Davangere police, led by Superintendent of Police Uma Prashanth, showed great will power and perseverance in detecting the case while crossing many hurdles and facing many dead ends,” he said.

Other crimes cracked

In fact, the investigation into the case also resulted in the arrest of five notorious gang members of Kakrala gang.

As the initial investigation suggested a modus operandi similar to that of the Kakrala gang, the police managed to track the cases and arrest five of them.

The arrests not only led to the solving of several cases of theft and robbery but also revealed their involvement in other crimes in the region.