Cheruvathur bank heist: Mastermind held, entire gold recovered

The mastermind behind last week's looting of a nationalized bank at Cheruvathur has been arrested and the entire quantity of gold worth Rs 4.50 crore was recovered, police said today.
Three others were also held in the case, they said.
The main accused, Abdul Lateef was arrested from Kodagu in Karnataka on October 1, Dr A Srinivas, Superintendent of Police, Kasargod told a press conference today.
The gold kept in a gunny bag was recovered from an abandoned well near the building which Latheef had rented.
About 19 kgs gold ornaments worth Rs 4.50 crore and Rs three lakh in cash had been looted from the Cheruvathur branch of Vijaya bank in Kasargod district on September 28 by the robbers, who gained entry into the first floor of the building from the ground floor by drilling a concrete slab.

The SP said one Sulaiman was arrested on September 29 itself. The two others were nabbed with coordination of Kerala and Karnataka police, who tracked their movements, Srinivas said, bud did not mention when they were arrested.

He said investigations centered around a person who had rented a shop on the ground floor of the building in which the bank was functioning, leading to the arrests and subsequent recovery of the loot.
A special police team formed to crack the case had also identified the other four gang-members, who are at large now, he said.
The SP did not mention anything about Rs three lakh in cash which was also stolen by the gang that day.