Thieves broke open a chest at a bank in Uttar Pradesh's Kanpur and stole gold worth Rs 1 crore. They entered the bank's vault through a 10-feet-long tunnel, the police said today.
They dug the four-feet-wide tunnel from an empty plot adjacent to the State Bank of India's Bhanuti branch, the police said.
Though the thieves managed to open the gold chest, they could not pry open the cash box, which had Rs 32 lakh, police officer Vijay Dhull said.
Bank officials took hours to provide an estimate of the stolen gold. They said it weighed over 1.8 kg and was worth about Rs 1 crore, Mr Dhull added.
"It could be an insider's job who executed the crime with the help of expert criminals. We have found some leads, including fingerprints from the strong-room, which might help crack the heist," Mr Dhull told PTI.
The police suspect the thieves must have observed the area and got familiar with the construction and architecture of the bank, including the vault area.
Bank officials discovered the robbery this morning, police officer BP Jogdand said.
AdvertisementBank officials found the tunnel through which the thieves came to the vault, the police officer said.
Senior police officials, forensic experts and a dog squad reached the bank and soon launched a probe. Several police teams headed by senior officials have been formed, Mr Jogdand said.
AdvertisementBank manager Neeraj Rai told the police that the gold belonged to 29 people who had taken loans against it.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
