Kishtwar, Feb 3: In a brazen act of burglary, unidentified masked thieves broke into the Suid Branch of Jammu and Kashmir Bank in the remote Dachchan area of Kishtwar district and escaped with nearly Rs 19 lakh during the early hours of Sunday.
According to police sources, the break-in occurred at approximately 2:30 AM when the culprits forced their way into the bank by breaking the lock on the main entrance. Once inside, they managed to pry open the cash vault and flee with the stolen money.
The theft was discovered in the morning when bank staff arrived to open the branch. To their shock, they found the main door wide open and all the locks missing. It is suspected that the thieves deliberately took the locks with them to erase any potential evidence.
Upon receiving a formal complaint from the branch manager, the police registered a case at Police Station Dachchan under relevant sections of law. Authorities have retrieved CCTV footage from inside the bank as part of their investigation.
“In the footage, two masked individuals can be seen inside the bank during the theft. However, we are not ruling out the possibility of more people being involved,” police sources stated. Given the region’s history of militancy-related incidents, investigators are also exploring any possible terror links to the heist.
Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Kishtwar, Javid Iqbal, confirmed the burglary and stated that the exact amount stolen is still being assessed. “A case has been registered against unidentified individuals, and a Special Investigation Team (SIT), led by Deputy SP Sumit, has been constituted to probe the case and bring the culprits to justice,” the SSP added.
Highlighting the security vulnerabilities at the bank, the SSP noted that the branch lacked even basic safety measures. “Suid is a rural area with no proper road access, and the bank had no security infrastructure except a wooden main door with a lock. There was no night guard deployed to safeguard the premises,” he pointed out.
In light of these security lapses, the police have also initiated an inquiry into the role of bank employees to rule out any insider involvement. The case remains under active investigation, with authorities making all efforts to track down the perpetrators and recover the stolen cash.