In an interesting revelation, one of the four men killed in the police encounter in Chennai earlier this week, has turned out to be a much-hated thorn in the Mumbai police’s side.
Vinod Kumar, originally from Bihar, was a key wanted accused in the much-publicised serial bank robberies in the Malad-Borivli belt in 2010, the police said.
“Vinod Kumar was wanted in three bank robberies in the city in 2010. We had arrested four persons in the case. He was the leader of the gang and we were looking for him,” said Deven Bharti, additional commissioner of police, crime branch.
From June to October 2010, a gang of robbers robbed the Model Cooperative Bank in Malad, the HDFC bank in Borivali and the Saraswat bank in Charkop.
The spate of robberies ended on October 14, when four members of the gang were arrested by the police. Vinod was a key member of the gang and managed to elude the police, remaining a free man.
“Inquiries at his hometown in Patna revealed that he was the richest man in the village. The sarpanch of the village told us that he would donate lakhs of rupees to all charitable events and owned a huge wine shop as well as several commercial establishments,” said an officer with the Malad police, who was closely involved in the investigation at the time.
The police’s investigations into the robberies following the arrests revealed careful planning and precise execution, with no robbery lasting for more than five to seven minutes. The accused would enter the bank wearing two shirts, one over the other.