A special police team has succeeded in arresting two members of the gang who broke into a private bank in Gampola town, tied the security guard to a chair and robbed the cash deposit machine (CDM) with over 76 lakh rupees, including the mastermind of this robbery the Police informed.
Furthermore the Police information revealed that this suspect, who has served in the Army’s Special Forces for about 22 years, and another suspect were arrested after an operation in Pannala area.
On the morning of the last 25th, a group consisting of four people who came in a K.D.H. van had carried out this robbery, marking the first time in the history of this country that a cash deposit machine had been hijacked. About 04 hours after this robbery, the van was found by the police when it was left at Galaha Junction in Peradeniya, with the driver whose hands were tied left him near the van. The driver is a resident of Aranayak. A retired air force soldier, he had said during police questioning that he was brought in the van to Peradeniya on the pretext of a rental trip, tied his hands and eyes, hijacked the van and later left him with the van.
Based on the contradictions and doubts regarding the driver’s statements, he was kept in police custody for several days and investigations were conducted. Meanwhile, on two occasions, the robbers had credited an amount of one lakh to his bank account which he claiming that it was the rent of the van. It was said that this van was brought to Peradeniya for the rental journey through a WhatsApp call. After a scientific investigation conducted through the phone number that made the call and the bank branch where the money was deposited into the bank, it was possible to arrest these two suspects.
Cash deposit machine stolen from Gampola Bank, although it was taken in K.D.H. van, the police suspect that it was loaded in to another vehicle on the way and taken to another place. The police believe that the machine was taken to Pannala and the money was taken by smashing it. The police believe that they will be able to arrest the other suspects with that machine today and tomorrow.
Police investigations have revealed that the robbers were able to remove the machine from the bank and take it because only two of the four nails that were fixed to the floor were attached to the machine and those attached nails were not strong. It has also been suspected that these robbers have received information from a certain person that the machine is installed insecurely. Police information revealed that a comprehensive investigation is currently underway. The van driver was remanded yesterday (30) after being presented to the Gampola court.
Gayan Kumara Weerasinghe
