Four held in connection with robbery at SBI bank in Karnataka's Vijaypura district
Vijayapura (PTI): Four people have been arrested in connection with robbery of cash and gold ornaments worth over Rs 21 crore at a SBI bank branch in this district last month, police said on Thursday.
Three of the accused -- Rakesh Kumar Sahani (22), Rajkumar Ramlal Paswan (21) and Rakshak Kumar (21), were arrested from Samastipur district of Bihar, they said.
The identity of the main suspect, who has been arrested from Maharashtra, has not been revealed by the police for investigation purposes.
Following investigation, police claimed to have so far recovered 9.01 kg gold and Rs 86.31 lakh in cash.
Based on technical analysis and credible information, the investigation revealed that the firearms supplied to the accused were procured from Bihar, police said.
"Acting on this, a police team travelled to Bihar and arrested the individuals who had supplied the illegal weapons and assisted in the crime," Vijaypura Superintendent of Police Laxman Nimbargi said.
"One accused from Maharashtra played a key role in planning the bank robbery. He had conducted reconnaissance visits to the bank multiple times and had stolen a car in Mangalwedha town in Solapur district to use in the crime. He was arrested on October 7 and produced before the court," he said.
From his possession, police seized 55 grams of gold bangles and one motorcycle used in the crime, he said.
Efforts are underway to nab two more suspects involved in the robbery, whose identities have been ascertained, police said, adding that they are working towards recovering the remaining gold and cash looted during the robbery.
According to police, on September 16, at around 7.20 pm, three masked men armed with country-made pistols and knives allegedly robbed the nationalised bank in Chadchan town of this district, making off with cash and gold ornaments, after tying up the staff.
In total, cash and gold ornaments worth over Rs 21 crore were stolen by the robbers as per the estimate of the bank authorities. They escaped with cash worth more than a crore and gold ornaments weighing approximately 20 kg, worth approximately Rs 20 crore, the FIR stated.
Based on the complaint of the bank manager, a case was registered in this regard, police said, adding that seven teams were formed to nab the suspects.
According to Nimbargi, investigations revealed that the car used by the accused to flee after committing the crime met with an accident at Hulajanti village in Solapur district, Maharashtra. When locals gathered at the spot, the driver brandished a pistol to threaten them and fled, abandoning the car there.
"Acting swiftly, the investigation team rushed to the spot and seized 21 packets containing 888.33 grams of gold jewellery and Rs 1,03,160 in cash from the vehicle," he said.
The officer said that during a cordon and search operation conducted for two days in and around Hulajanti village, police found that the accused had thrown a bag onto the terrace of an abandoned house. Upon inspection, the bag was found to contain 6.54 kg of gold ornaments and Rs 41.03 lakh in cash.
Police also recovered 1.587 kg of gold and Rs 44,25,060 in cash from 15 residents of Hulajanti who had taken the gold and cash from the vehicle.
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Rajnath to top commanders: Outmaneuver adversaries with strategic surprise
Jaipur/New Delhi (PTI): Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Friday directed the top military commanders of the three services to integrate an "element of surprise" into modern warfare to outmaneuver India's adversaries and bolster strategic posture.
In his address at the joint commanders conference in Jaipur, Singh also described the Operation Sindoor as a testament to the "swift, precise, and joint response" of the Indian armed forces to safeguard national interests and called upon the military to remain ready to deal with any security challenges.
In their two-day deliberations, the commanders carried out a comprehensive review of the combat preparedness of the military in the wake of the evolving regional security situation.
Operation Sindoor was a demonstration of India's growing capabilities and a symbol of the nation's collective resolve and new military ethos, Singh said, a day after the first anniversary of Operation Sindoor.
He also unveiled a 'Joint Doctrine for Integrated Communication Architecture' that is aimed at strengthening doctrinal clarity, interoperability and integrated communications across the armed forces in future multidomain operations.
The joint commanders' conference, themed 'Military Capability in New Domains', brought together the top leadership of the defence ministry and the three services to deliberate on emerging security challenges and future readiness.
Comprehensive deliberations were held on future warfare, multidomain operations, technological transformation and joint capability development.
The conference witnessed extensive discussions on cognitive warfare, cyber resilience against evolving quantum and AI-enabled threats, military capability development in emerging domains, indigenous innovation and AI-enabled warfighting concepts.
It was attended by Chief of Defence Staff Gen Anil Chauhan, Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral Dinesh Kumar Tripathi, Chief of the Army Staff Gen Upendra Dwivedi, Chief of the Air Staff Air Chief Marshal AP Singh and Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh among others.
In his remarks, Singh asked the commanders to remain "future-ready" by learning from the operation as well as the current global security landscape.
He underscored the need to strengthen capabilities in artificial intelligence, autonomous systems, data analytics and secure communication networks to stay prepared in the rapidly evolving geopolitical security scenario. He emphasised that future conflicts will increasingly be shaped by hybrid threats, information dominance and operations conducted simultaneously across cyber, space, electromagnetic and cognitive domains, according to an official readout.
Highlighting the transformative impact of emerging technologies, Singh stressed on the importance of ensuring integrated national preparedness across all spectrums of conflict, it said.
Singh's remarks at the conference came a day after the first anniversary of Operation Sindoor.
The defence minister appreciated the progress achieved in enhancing jointness, integration and technological adoption across the three services, the readout noted.
Singh said that jointness constitutes a pivotal dimension within the transformative changes sweeping across the global defence sector.
"Future wars will not be won solely through weaponry, but through innovative thinking and enhanced synergy," he said.
The defence minister exhorted the commanders to cultivate the "element of surprise" to remain unpredictable to the nation's adversaries and secure a strategic edge in any given situation.
He, however, urged them to remain vigilant of the element of surprise of the enemy and always stay two steps ahead.
Singh also reiterated the Narendra Modi government's commitment to enhancing the capabilities of the defence forces through state-of-the-art weapons and platforms. He added that special focus is being laid on research in niche domains.
During the conference, he released a documentary film on Operation Sindoor.
The film reaffirms the nation's and defence forces' commitment to operational preparedness and decisive national response capabilities.
Demonstrations of advanced systems and platforms developed for intelligence fusion, operational planning and information management were also showcased during the conference reflecting growing integration of cutting-edge technologies into joint operational structures, according to the defence ministry.
The discussions will contribute significantly towards shaping India's future military transformation and integrated operational preparedness, it said.
