Prime accused in Haryana bank heist arrested

Chandigarh: Haryana Police Friday arrested the prime accused involved in the Punjab National Bank (PNB) locker heist.

The accused, Rajesh, and his accomplices had dug an 84-feet-long tunnel into the bank's locker room at Gohana in Sonipat district last month.

The police has already arrested eight people involved in the robbery and recovered nearly 50 kg of jewellery, including gold ornaments, Rs.3.73 lakh in cash, a country made pistol and ammunition.

A police spokesman said prime accused Rajesh was evading arrest and was caught in Narela near Delhi.

He has a criminal past, the spokesman said.

In the bank locker heist, the burglars dug the tunnel from the building adjoining the bank and broke into the PNB locker room.

They opened over 85 lockers, police said.

One accused Mahipal, who owned the building from which the burglars dug a tunnel to the bank, was later found dead inside a car.

Customers protested outside the bank, accusing the bank officials of negligence and not having any security system in place.