J-K bank robbery: Case solved in 24 hours; Rs 1.53 crore recovered, 1 arrested

A man was arrested and over Rs 1.53 crore stolen from a bank was recovered in Jammu and Kashmir's Kathua district, police said. Another accused in the case is absconding and a hunt is on to nab him, they said.
"We have cracked a bank robbery case by arresting one accused and recovered stolen cash of Rs 1,53,86,290 within 24 hours," Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), Kathua, R C Kotwal told reporters. Ashok Kumar, Branch Manager of HDFC Bank in Kathua, filed a complaint with the police alleging that two unidentified persons entered the bank branch from a terrace door, tied the security guard and stole money, he said.

Approximately, Rs 1,65,00,000 was missing from the branch, Kotwal said. A case was registered and investigation set into motion, he said. A Special Investigation Team (SIT) under Additional SP of Kathua Suresh Kumar Chib was constituted, the SSP said. The team succeeded in arresting one person, identified as Jagandeep Singh, from Kathua, he said.

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During questioning, he disclosed the location where the stolen cash was stashed as well as the name of another accused namely Sukhvinder Singh of Kathua, the SSP said. In the presence of Executive Magistrate Tehsildar Bikram Kumar and HDFC Bank Manager Kumar, Jagandeep Singh confessed his involvement in the robbery and on his disclosure the police team recovered Rs 1,36,87,250 from his residence and Rs 16,99,040 from the residence of another accused Sukhvinder Singh, he said.

"The search for Sukhvinder Singh is on," Kotwal said. The case was solved within 24 hours by the police, he said, adding the involvement of the accused in other cases cannot be ruled out.

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