Second bank robbery in Karnataka within 24 hours: Loot at gunpoint

Mangaluru: In a shocking turn of events, Karnataka witnessed its second bank robbery in less than 24 hours, with a heist at the Kotekar Cooperative Bank in Mangaluru. A gang of six men arrived in a black Fiat car and carried out the robbery, with five of them entering the bank armed with guns while the sixth remained outside. The robbers threatened the bank employees at gunpoint and made off with an estimated Rs 12 crore, including cash and gold.

Despite tight security measures in the area due to the visit of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, the gang managed to bypass the precautions and execute the heist. The robbery took place while the bank's CCTV cameras were being repaired by a technician, who reportedly had his jewelry stolen by the robbers during the incident. It is believed the gang took advantage of the camera outage to carry out the crime.

Eyewitnesses reported that the robbers asked children in a bakery located on the building’s ground floor to leave and communicated with the bank staff in Hindi, though they spoke amongst themselves in Kannada. The robbers fled the scene with the stolen goods in five sacks, and police discovered that the number plate on their getaway car was fake. CCTV footage from the bank has been released, and authorities are investigating leads, including questioning the agency responsible for the camera repairs.

This heist follows a similar robbery just a day earlier, when assailants in Bidar stole around Rs 93 lakh from an SBI ATM. Two armed men on a bike opened fire on security personnel and made off with the money.

The police are conducting an intense investigation into both robberies. Karnataka Assembly Speaker U.T. Khader urged law enforcement to apprehend the culprits swiftly. This is the second major robbery in the state within 24 hours, raising concerns over security and the rising trend of bank heists.