Bike from Telangana, fake Aadhaar card from MP: Gangster in Bihar jail plotted robbery at SBI branch eyeing gold in vault, say Surat police

The police said the robbers have bought a second-hand motorbike from Telangana with a fake licence plate and rode to Surat and stayed there for two months, taking houses on rent using fake Aadhaar cards which they made in Madhya Pradesh, and done several recce before they eventually robbed the SBI branch.

The two arrested accused –  Subham Thakur, 24, and Vikram Singh Rajput, 30, both residents of Gonda, Bihar – were produced before the Surat district court which sent them to 8-day police remand till May 14.

A conspiracy hatched in jail 

Surat Police Commissioner Anupam Singh Gahlaut said, “Subham Thakur is one among five gang members who entered the SBI Varachha bank on April 27,  at 1 pm and committed the robbery. Others involved in the robbery are still absconding and they will be arrested soon.”

“The notorious gangster Kundan Bhagat had hatched a conspiracy to rob the SBI branch at Varachha. He had hired people from different states such as UP, Bihar, MP, etc., to commit the robbery. They had procured fake Aadhaar cards from Madhya Pradesh. They had bought a bike from Telangana and had selected Surat to commit their first crime in Gujarat. The gang members involved in the bank robbery are having criminal cases against them, and they came in contact with Kundan through his jail links,”  Gahlaut said.

Police sources said that Kundan Bhagat is presently in Beur Jail in Patna for his alleged involvement in the robbery of gold jewellery worth Rs 14 crore from a showroom in Dehradun on November 9, 2023. Kundan hails from Muzaffarpur and was arrested by the Bihar police on  November 16, 2025, along with his two aides.

An official with Surat police, on condition of anonymity, said, “The gang has expertise in committing robbery of gold jewellery. Varachha is famous for diamonds and jewellery, and Kundan may have learnt that the SBI bank safe vault may consist of diamonds and gold jewellery.”

Robbers’ first demand: ‘Vault room ki Chaabi’

As per the FIR lodged with Varachha police station by the in-charge manager of SBI Varachha branch Kiran Prakash Bhoge, the robbers were demanding, “Vault room ki Chaabi de do” (hand over vault room keys), “fatafat vault room khol do” (immediately open the vault room). When Bhoge refused, one of the robbers pointed a gun at Bhoge’s head and said, “Chaabi de do nahi to muhme goli maar dunga” (Give me keys or else I will shoot you in the mouth).

The FIR adds, “Bhoge told them that he is in charge and the keys lie with the branch manager Niraj Kumar, who is away for local body election works.”

Police sources said that one of the accused robbers had made an internet call to the gang leader Bhagat, from the bank premises and told him that the vault keys were unavailable because the manager was on leave. As per Bhagat’s direction, they robbed Rs 12 lakh from the cash counter and Rs 40 lakh which came from the SBI head office.

The accused had used three bikes, including two high-speed bikes to reach the bank. One of the high-speed bikes was bought from a person in Telangana. The robbers rode over a thousand kilometres from Telangana and reached Surat. They had taken a house on rent at Ughat village in Rander and later shifted to another house on Ved road, after having a dispute with the first house owner, police said.