Vain bid to loot SBH branch

KARIMNAGAR: Robbers made a vain bid to open the safety lockers in State Bank of Hyderabad branch at Mankammathota in Karimnagar town on Sunday night even while the branch is located near the central crime station and II Town police station.The incident came to light on Monday morning when the bank staff found grills of the window on the rear side of the building cut.Robbers gained entry into the bank through the window and headed to the record room where vouchers and unused books are placed.The cautious robbers, before beginning their operation, disconnected the alarm bell fixed to the locker room.Then they broke open the lock of the grilled door of the strong room in the bank on the Karimnagar-Vemulawada road.Surprisingly, the miscreants just brought two 4-inch iron rods, along with them, and left them in the bank itself.They also used a hammer, belonging to the bank, in the operation Karimangar DSP Kadiyam Chakravarthi, along with the CCS and II Town police staff, inspected the place of crime.“The robbers held a recce before plunging into action.Lack of adequate security at the bank has prompted robbers to barge into it,” he said.This apart, closed circuit TV cameras were fixed only at counters but not at the strong room, he added.“It appears as though robbers have spent more time in checking the bank records,” he pointed out.But the clues team could not collect many fingerprints from the almirah.Many fingerprints were collected from the locker room only.Police suspect that the miscreants used modern equipment to cut the window grills.After the robbery bid at Husnabad Deccan Grameena Bank last year, this is the first incident in 2012.