• Victim was walking towards home from bank; Police suspect criminals might have followed him
• Hazy CCTV footage of two criminals speeding away on a busy road obtained from shops

Mysore/Mysuru: While incidents of criminals looting jewellery and cash from shops and business establishments have seen a downward trend of late, the acts of robbing people who return from banks with cash bags have resurfaced after a lull.

Yesterday, one such incident was reported from Kuvempunagar where a cash bag containing Rs. 1.34 lakh was snatched by two bike-borne men at around 11.50 am. The incident that occurred in broad daylight in a crowded area has unnerved residents, especially senior citizens. The cash bag was snatched from 63-year-old Madan, a resident of Kuvempunagar KHB First Stage.

Madan was suffering from spondylitis and had undergone a surgery and as per the advice from the doctors, he was avoiding driving his vehicle and preferred to walk short distances for errands. Due to urgent financial requirements, he went to the M-Block SBI branch on Nrupathunga Road yesterday and the bank was about half-a-kilometre from his house.

Victim was crossing road

After reaching the bank, he presented a cheque to withdraw Rs. 1.34 lakh and put the cash inside his cloth bag. Madan headed out from the bank to his home and as he reached the Ganapathi Temple on Nrupathunga Road at around 11.50 am, two bike-borne criminals slowed down the bike behind Madan and the pillion rider snatched the bag.

Madan was crossing the road and the miscreants timed their act perfectly and the Police suspected that Madan was being followed from the bank. A shell-shocked Madan took some time to realise that the cash bag had been snatched. But by then, the criminals sped away towards Kuvempunagar Complex.

Due to his health condition, Madan could not raise an alarm immediately. However, by the time he shouted for help, the criminals had vanished from the scene. Another two-wheeler stopped by and based on the directions provided by Madan, the rider looked around the surrounding areas for the bike and the criminals in vain.

Daring daylight crime

Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime and Traffic) S. Jahnavi and other officers visited the spot and collected details from Madan and the people around.

What is baffling for the Police is the daring daylight crime committed by two men, that too in a usually busy area.

Scanning the CCTV visuals of nearby shops and business establishments, the Police have been able to see the crime scene and how the duo made an escape after snatching the cash bag. The Police have obtained a couple of hazy visuals but efforts are on to trace the vehicle, its make and the ownership details. The faces of the criminals are not clear in the visuals and efforts are on to use technology to establish the identities, Police said.

In his statement to the Police, Madan said that he had wrapped the cash bag around his hand and was walking slowly when the criminals struck. He said that he was walking on the footpath from the bank and was crossing the road near the Ganapathi Temple when the incident occurred.

Madan told Star of Mysore that he needed cash for his medical treatment and apart from cash, the bag contained his Aadhaar Card, cheque book, pass book and other documents. “I could not note down the bike’s registration number but the pillion rider was wearing a blue shirt and it looked like a Pulsar bike. They sped away towards Kuvempunagar Complex,” he said.