Armed gang robs SBI branch in Chadachan, makes off with cash and gold; police mount manhunt

New Delhi | September 17, 2025 — A brazen daytime robbery at the State Bank of India’s Chadachan branch in Vijayapura district, Karnataka, left officials reeling after three armed suspects tied up staff and customers and escaped with cash and jewellery valued at about ₹21.04 crore, police said. According to the branch manager’s complaint, the trio entered the bank posing as customers keen to open a current account. Once inside, they produced pistols and knives, threatened people present, bound them with plastic cable-ties and forced staff to open cash and locker vaults. Investigators report that of 425 gold packets stored at the branch, 398 were taken — roughly 20 kilograms of gold — along with around ₹1.04 crore in currency. Police said the robbers fled in a Suzuki EVA bearing a fake licence plate and headed toward Pandharpur in neighbouring Maharashtra. The vehicle is reported to have met with an accident in Hulajanti village in Solapur district; the accused abandoned the car and escaped on foot with the loot. Superintendent of Police Laxman Nimbargi confirmed that there were no injuries among bank employees or customers and said a large-scale search operation is under way across Karnataka and Maharashtra to apprehend the suspects. The Chadachan theft comes months after an even larger burglary in the same region. Between May 23 and 25, perpetrators stole ₹53.26 crore from a Canara Bank branch in Managuli village — including nearly 59 kg of gold and some cash. Police later arrested former Canara Bank branch manager Vijaykumar Miriyal and two associates in connection with that heist. Probes into the earlier case revealed an elaborate inside job: investigators allege the conspirators cut power and CCTV feeds, removed a window grille, and used a duplicate locker key Miriyal had made while on duty. The accused are also said to have studied heist films, used masks and helmets, scattered chilli powder to foil sniffer dogs and even left items intended to mislead investigators. The conspirators reportedly timed the strike to avoid an IPL match, and delayed action until Miriyal was transferred so suspicion would fall on his successors. Police are treating the Chadachan robbery as a high-priority case and have deployed teams to trace the suspects and recover the stolen property. Authorities have appealed to the public for any information about the Suzuki EVA or movements in the Hulajanti and Pandharpur areas.