Navi Mumbai Police nab Bank of Baroda heist ''mastermind''

Shiv Kumar
Tribune News Service
Mumbai, November 19

Navi Mumbai Police claim to have achieved a major breakthrough in last weekend's Bank of Baroda robbery case following the arrest of the suspected mastermind and three of his accomplices on late Saturday evening.

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Sources said the four persons were arrested after going through the CCTV footage in the bank premises and surrounding areas. They were picked up from Dhule district, where they had been hiding for the past few days. Their interrogation have provided some clues as to the where Genu Bacchan Prasad, the alleged mastermind behind the heist, was hiding since the robbery, police said.

According to officials, Prasad is being questioned to see if he was acting on behalf of anyone.

Following their arrest on Saturday, the police have begun to scrutinise the call records of the mobile phones of the four suspects, sources said.

The police have also seized the getaway car in which the robbers had escaped after the heist.

Prasad had rented a shop a few doors away from the bank in May this year. Last weekend, 30 of the bank's 225 lockers were found broken open and their contents stolen. A tunnel that opened into the locker room led to the store from where the robbers had made their getaway, police said.

Cash and jewellery worth around Rs 3 crore are believed to have been stolen from the lockers, according to police.