Two arrested for bank heist in Delhi’s Vishwas Nagar

The men allegedly stole ₹55 lakh after breaking open the iron vault on Sunday. The break-in was discovered on Monday and the suspects were arrested late in the night, the police said

Two men have been arrested for allegedly cutting through a wall and floor of the Union Bank of India’s branch in east Delhi’s Vishwas Nagar and stealing ₹55 lakh after breaking open the iron vault on Sunday. The break-in was discovered on Monday and the suspects were arrested late in the night, the police said.

Police team with the arrested men in New Delhi on Tuesday, June 22. (Karn Pratap Singh)

Interestingly, one of them, Hari Ram, is a mason who lives in a lane close to the bank, and was called in by the bank officials to patch up the holes after the forensic teams had lifted evidence from the crime scene. He was hired for some repair work in the bank six months ago as well. Two years ago, he had worked as a mason and the caretaker of an adjacent under construction building from where the two allegedly drilled their way into the bank, said deputy commissioner of police (Shahdara) R Sathiyasundaram.

“Ram was well aware of the designs of the two structures and how to enter the bank. He included his friend Kali Charan in the heist they had been planning for the past three months,” said the DCP, adding that the two were caught with the help of CCTV cameras and human intelligence network.

Police said most of the stolen cash has been recovered and they are interrogating the arrested men to ascertain if more people were involved in the heist.