Haryana bank heist: Two suspects arrested, building owner's body found

Chandigarh: In the daring bank locker heist in Gohana town, Haryana Police have arrested two suspects and recovered over 10 kg of ornaments, an official said Thursday, adding that the man who owned the building from which the burglars dug a tunnel to the bank was found dead inside a car.

The body of Mahipal, who owned the building from where the 125-foot long tunnel was dug to the bank's locker room, was found in a car on the Panipat highway, in a shocking twist to the case. Police said it appeared Mahipal committed suicide.

Burglars had dug the tunnel from the building adjoining the bank and broken into the locker room of the state-run Punjab National Bank (PNB). They broke open 89 of the over 350 lockers in the room. The heist came to light Monday.

Sonipat district police chief Arun Nehra told the media that two men, Balraj and Surinder, were arrested for the bank robbery in Gohana, 210 km from here.

"Two suspects have been arrested. We have recovered over 10 kg ornaments from a bag hidden in a brick kiln in a nearby village. We are trying to apprehend two other suspects, Satish and Rajesh," the police official said.

Another official said the building owner's body was found in a car on the Panipat highway. "It appears that he consumed some poisonous substance and committed suicide," he said.

Police have booked bank officers for negligence.

Angry customers have been agitating outside the bank branch since Monday. They claim they had lost millions in the form of jewellery and cash.

The Prime Minister's Office had sent a senior security officer to Gohana Tuesday to help police in the investigation.