TIRUPATI: The robbery at the Fincare Small Finance Bank at Srikalahasti in Tirupati was a stagemanaged insider job, police said on Thursday, after arresting the branch manager and seven others she had hired.
The manager, Sravanthi (37), hired the gang to commit the robbery to cover-up the irregularities she had committed, investigators said, adding that she pledged one kg of gold mortgaged by the bank’s customers.
She allegedly used the gold to avail loans from other private financiers. Sravanthi hired the now-arrested men – C Naveen, Sk Sultan Mohammad, D Vijaya Kumar, J Hussain, Jagadesh Kumar Guru Raj, B Anthony Raj and V Arun – to rob the bank so that the discrepancy in gold stock that may be found while auditing would not put her under suspicion.
Three of the arrested men hailed from Srikalahasti, while the remaining accused were from Tamil Nadu, police said. The manager earlier told the police that three masked men had barged into the branch on Masjid Street close to midnight on May 26, gagged her, and took away valuables and cash after holding her and others at knifepoint.
The staff, she said, were closing the pending accounts when the incident occurred. Following the incident, district police chief P Parameswar Reddy formed special teams comprising Srikalahasti One Town CI Anju Yadav, Two Town CI Bhaskar Nayak, Rural CI Krishna Mohan and BN Kandriga CI Vikram. They were led by DSP K Viswanath.
Police have…
