Indian Sequel of Money Heist- Banker Robs Rs 34 Crores
This story is regarding a theft of Rs 34 crore from the vault of the ICICI Bank which was inspired by the famous Netflix show, Money Heist.
Planned over nearly one year, reportedly inspired by the global hit [Netflix show 'Money Heist', a bank robbery near Mumbai has shocked everyone. The plot of the robbery is no lesser than a full drama packed web series. The case is regarding a theft of Rs 34 crore from the vault of the ICICI Bank in the MIDC region of Dombivli a few months back. In this case, the police have arrested a bank manager who allegedly stole Rs 34 crore from the bank's safe. Altaf Shaikh is the 43-year-old bank manager who is also the main accused in the case, has been arrested and a whopping sum of Rs 9 crore was found from him.
The police said. He used to work as a custodian of the vaults at the bank and had plotted the heist while working as an employee in the same bank. His sister, who is identified as Neelofar, has also been arrested in the same case they said. Shaikh is a resident of Mumbra, and has been working with ICICI Bank as a custodian over the last few years. As the custodian, he was the caretaker of the bank's locker keys.
He spent a year planning the heist, studying the loopholes in the system, and gathering tools to pull it off. The police officer investigating the case has said. During the investigation, the police found that Shaikh planned the entire heist by widening the AC duct to throw out the cash into the garbage bin and tampering with the CCTV footage; he added. After deactivating the alarm system and dysfunctioning the CCTV cameras, Shaikh had opened the bank vault and transferred the cash to the duct, sliding it into the garbage bin. The incident came to light after the bank realised that the security money was missing, as were the footage of the CCTVs, which prompted its personnel to call the inspection team. With technicians informing authorities that the footage was stored online as well and realising his plan was falling apart, Shaikh fled the scene with around Rs 12 crore. The remaining Rs 22 crore was discovered under a tarp at the bank. He spent the next three months on the run, changing his looks and using a burqa to hide his identity. Shaikh's sister Neelofar, who was aware of his movement, hid some cash in her home.She has been charged as a co-accused in the case and arrested; the police said. Shaikh after his 3 months escape was finally arrested from Pune on Monday, 3rd of October.
