Ludhiana: Burglars break into bank, faulty inverter saves day

The burglars mistook the inverter beeps for a security alarm and fled; bank did not have any guard or security alarm, say cops

A gang of burglars broke into the Kalakh village branch of UCO Bank on the intervening night of Friday and Saturday, but failed to steal any valuables. They entered the bank after breaking the windowpane, but could not manage to open the safe.

Three burglars were captured breaking into the Kalakh village branch of UCO Bank in Ludhiana. (Getty Images)

The FIR has been lodged based on the statement of branch manager Vivek Kumar, a resident of Ram Nagar, Khanna.

Kumar said the sarpanch of Kalakh village called him on Saturday morning after noticing the broken window panes of the bank. When he reached the spot, he found that the grills and window panes adjoining the main gate were damaged.

The manager added that they scanned CCTV footage, where three masked men had been captured entering the bank.

Inspector Paramdeep Singh, station house officer at Dehlon police station, said that despite repeated appeals, the bank did not have a theft alarm and a security guard hadn’t been deputed either.

He added that when the burglars tried to break open the safe, the inverter installed at the bank started beeping due to a technical snag. The trio thought it was the security alarm and fled.

A case under Sections 457 (lurking house-trespass or house-breaking by night in order to commit offence), 380 (theft in dwelling house, etc), 511 (attempt to commit offences) and 34 (common intention) of Indian Penal Code has been lodged against unidentified suspects.

It is suspected that the burglary had been well planned and the suspects may have visited the bank previously.