Armed gang loots Rs 12 crore in cash, gold from Mangaluru bank; second case in Karnataka in 2 days

“An armed robbery was reported at Sahakari Sangha Bank, Kotekar, today between 11:30 am and 12:30 pm. A group of five to six individuals, aged 25-35, entered the bank wearing masks and carrying weapons, including a pistol, a sword, and a knife. At the time of the incident, four to five employees were present in the bank,” the Mangaluru police said.

“The accused were speaking in Hindi, threatened the staff, and forced them to open the vault, which contained gold jewellery, and other valuables. Preliminary estimates suggest the value of the stolen items is around Rs 10-12 crore, though detailed assessments are underway,” the police added.

When the armed robbery was in progress, the CCTV cameras at the bank were not functioning due to technical issues reported a day earlier. A technician was at the bank to fix the CCTV system when the robbers entered the premises.

The gang reportedly asked students at a bakery located outside the bank to leave the area during the robbery.

This is the second robbery in two days in Karnataka. On Thursday, two armed men killed a security guard in Bidar town in north Karnataka and fled with Rs 93 lakh cash that was brought to the Shivaji Chowk SBI ATM for cash loading.

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, who was in Mangaluru on Friday, held an emergency meeting with senior police officials in the matter. He sought speedy action to trace the accused.

There were four employees at the Kotekar cooperative bank – along with the CCTV technician – when the armed robbery occurred on Friday. The suspects are reported by witnesses to have fled in a black Fiat car.