Navi Mumbai: Five months, a 30-ft-long tunnel and one smart heist – this is how the police summed up the break-in at Bank of Baroda’s Sanpada branch.
As the news spread on November 13 morning, around 11.30am, a crowd started gathering in front of the bank. Several police vans reached the spot, only raising more questions on how, why and when. At some point, the police had to lock the main entrance of the bank to preserve forensic evidence.
By afternoon, it emerged that 30 lockers, with valuables worth Rs 6 crore, were broken into over the weekend and the tunnel used for it was built over the past five months. Soon, the buzzword changed from bank robbery to a nondescript Shri Balaji general stores, the start of the tunnel that passed three shops to connect to the locker room.
Now came the questions. Everyone, from those worked at those shops to those who visited it, started jogging their memory for answers on whether they had seen anything suspicious over the past five months. Most were surprised that they didn’t hear any noise of digging or see debris being carried out of the shop.
Amol More, 37, an official of the agency that is adjacent to the general store, said: “Two people used to come to the shop for two to three hours a day. We never heard any noise from the store. We are shocked about how they did it so silently.”
The police suspect the culprits carried out the work in the night and threw the debris in small quantities away from the bank. For most, building a tunnel, almost like a “proper construction” five feet under the ground in a highly populated area, which is surrounded by banks and the resultant security, seemed unimaginable. “This is something we have never heard if. How could they go ahead with such an act in an area that witnesses constant police patrolling,” said Kunal Patil, 44, another resident of the area.
India Tribune, as an English weekly newspaper, was launched in 1977 in Chicago by its publisher Prashant Shah with a lofty ideal to serve the Asian Indian community in the USA. Over the years, it has grown with all vigor, and now it is being published in three editions – Chicago, New York and Atlanta. India Tribune, a journal of its kind for the family in the USA, has been a household name for many Indians for over three decades with each issue commanding a readership of over 125,000.
