Karnataka: Debt-ridden techie arrested for bank heist
Bengaluru, Jan 22: Desperate to come out of a debt trap of around Rs 35 lakh due to online trading, a 28-year-old techie allegedly robbed a bank of Rs 85.38 lakh at knife-point but was eventually caught, police said on Saturday.
According to police, Dhiraj S, a mechanical engineer from Basaveshwar Nagar in the city, had allegedly stormed into the bank just when the staff were shuttering the SBI branch at BTM Layout under the jurisdiction of Madivala police station on January 14 evening.
With his face masked, Dhiraj held a bank staffer by brandishing a knife at him asking other employees to open the premises. The shaken officials followed his instructions, police added.
The accused then took them to the strong room of the bank where he got Rs 3.77 lakh cash and 1.8 kg gold jewels loaded in his bag, the police said, adding that he escaped with the booty.
Following a complaint, the police formed various teams and worked on various intelligence inputs. Police was finally able to crack the case and caught him on January 18 evening.
Upon interrogation, Dhiraj revealed that he worked in a software company with a monthly salary of Rs 30,000. He had lost a huge sum in an online trading platform called Olymp Trade. To overcome the loss, he had borrowed about Rs 35 lakh, police said.
As the money lenders started pestering him, he planned the bank heist. He learnt the basics of bank robbery using some YouTube channels.
Dhiraj allegedly surveyed many banks not only in Bengaluru but also in Anantapur in Andhra Pradesh and finally zeroed in on the SBI branch at BTM Layout.
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Another North Goa nightclub sealed; Kejriwal says corruption led to fire tragedy
Panaji (PTI): As part of a crackdown against tourist establishments violating laws and safety norms in the aftermath of the Arpora fire tragedy, Goa authorities on Saturday sealed a renowned club at Vagator and revoked the fire department NOC of another club.
Cafe CO2 Goa, located on a cliff overlooking the Arabian Sea at Vagator beach in North Goa, was sealed. The move came two days after Goya Club, also in Vagator, was shut down for alleged violations of rules.
Elsewhere, campaigning for local body polls, AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal said the fire incident at Birch by Romeo Lane nightclub at Arpora, which claimed 25 lives on December 6, happened because the BJP government in the state was corrupt.
An inspection of Cafe CO2 Goa by a state government-appointed team revealed that the establishment, with a seating capacity of 250, did not possess a no-objection certificate (NOC) of the Fire and Emergency Services Department. The club, which sits atop Ozrant Cliff, also did not have structural stability, the team found.
The Fire and Emergency Services on Saturday also revoked the NOC issued to Diaz Pool Club and Bar at Anjuna as the fire extinguishers installed in the establishment were found to be inadequate, said divisional fire officer Shripad Gawas.
A notice was issued to Nitin Wadhwa, the partner of the club, he said in the order.
Campaigning at Chimbel village near Panaji in support of his party's Zilla Panchayat election candidate, Aam Aadmi Party leader Kejriwal said the nightclub fire at Arpora happened because of the "corruption of the Pramod Sawant-led state government."
"Why this fire incident happened? I read in the newspapers that the nightclub had no occupancy certificate, no building licence, no excise licence, no construction licence or trade licence. The entire club was illegal but still it was going on," he said.
"How could it go on? Couldn't Pramod Sawant or anyone else see it? I was told that hafta (bribe) was being paid," the former Delhi chief minister said.
A person can not work without bribing officials in the coastal state, Kejriwal said, alleging that officers, MLAs and even ministers are accepting bribes.
