By Ashraf Padanna/Gulf Times Correspondent/Thiruvananthapuram

In yet another bank robbery in a month in Kerala’s Kasaragod district, a state-run bank lost at least Rs70mn in cash and gold, police said yesterday.
Police said the robbers escaped with cash initially estimated at around Rs295,000 and gold worth Rs70.35mn from the Cheruvathur branch of Vijaya Bank.
It was not clear when the robbers broke into the bank because the crime was committed during the extended weekend, when the Eid festival was celebrated and the bank was closed for business.
Police said there was a serious lapse in security at the bank, and there was no guard or a night watchman.
The robbers entered through a hole dug on the floor of the bank that was functioning on the first floor of a rented building.
“The special police team has started its job. The cyber wing is also on the trail of the suspected robbers,” said District Police Superintendent S Sreenivas.
“It could be a team from outside the state as well.”
A person from Manjeshwar had rented the ground floor of the building three months back, and the room remained locked under the pretext of renovation.
The robbers appeared to have drilled their way into the bank’s strong room through the roof of the showroom and its lockers were found open.
On September 7, in broad daylight, armed and masked men who came on motorcycles took away Rs1.3mn in cash and 20kg of gold valued around Rs50mn from Kudlu Service Co-operative Bank in Eriyal in Kasargod.