Robbers get away with valuables from a bank locker room. Their M.O? Digging a tunnel

One of the reasons why heists capture popular imagination is the modus operandi. In a recent heist at a bank, the inspiration appears to be a movie — Shawshank Redemption.

Staffers of the Bank of Baroda's Juinagar branch in Navi Mumbai were in for a shock on Monday after they realised robbers decamped with valuables from 30 lockers. Their modus operandi — digging a tunnel through an adjacent shop, much like in Shawshank Redemption where the protagonist stages a prison-break by digging a tunnel.

It is still unclear whether the incident took Saturday or a Sunday as the bank was closed over the weekend. It only came to light only when a depositor wanted to view his valuables in a locker at the Navi Mumbai branch.

According to Hindustan Times report, a police officer from the Sanpada police station stated the robbers made a tunnel from the adjacent shop and entered the locker room to steal cash and jewellery, and escape through the tunnel. The value of the stolen goods is yet to be estimated.

The robbers allegedly cracked 30 out of the 225 lockers in the branch. The police, who are currently probing the matter, said the theft may have been planned over the last five months.

According to the police, the suspects may have set up Shree Balaji General Store two units way from the bank in May. The police also said that they have identified the main suspect, under whose name the shop was rented, according to a report by DNA.