Sunny Dua
Book: India’s Money Heist: The Chelembra Bank Robbery
Author: Anirban Bhattacharyya
Page: 347
Language: English
Publisher: Penguin Ebury Press
Price: INR 350
The Chelembra Bank Robbery considered India’s largest money heists, wherein robbers decamped with 80 kg of gold by breaking open the strong room but couldn’t enjoy the loot as the then Malappuram Superintendent of Police (SP) P Puthiyottil Vijayan nailed the culprits, is a real time dream enacted by four people including a woman that ended with their arrest and recovery of gold jewelry. Brilliant writer and author of many books Anirban Bhattacharyya has weaved the entire story into sixteen chapters that enables one to stay engrossed to know how the robbery was planned and executed but finally solved with the active use of technology as well as clues that culprits dropped.
This money heist and especially how the author has cared to write and also print picture of bank that was looted, culprits who were involved and cops who solved the is sure to make any bank official wise to think twice before hiring any premises. A simple yet important fact was ignored and I am sure in many cases it’s still going on wherein banks are functional on first floor while beneath them on the ground floor other establishments are continuing to deal like this Chelembra bank which had a full fledged restaurant beneath it which proved as a boon for the robbers.
In the name of renovation, the robbers kept working from Saturday evening to Sunday morning inside their restaurant in South Malappuram on whose first floor was located Malabar Gramin Bank. After drilling a hole into the ceiling of restaurant which in turn was floor of bank, decamped with their loot. This was not unusual for the reason that film ‘Dhoom’, as described by Anirban, proved like a guiding light for the robbers who wanted to imitate film heroes to rob the bank. They first tried, failed and then again tried to drill a hole in the bank to reach strong room. This tale is worth a read as Anirban has done complete justice with the story as well as efforts of police officials who hadn’t left any stone unturned to solve this case to find their heroic deeds published in the form of this novel.
While the robbers used cars to transport loot and run away, gloves not to leave finger prints at the site of crime, newspapers to hide behind glass walls of restaurant at the ground floor while drilling the ceiling, furniture to reach ceiling, gas cutters to melt lockers, drilling machines, marble cutters and other tools to reach lockers; police officials also identified locations through mobile towers, got hotel details, applied electronic surveillance techniques, traced call data records and also used forensic science to join the dots to reach accused only to nab them and solve India’s biggest ever money heist for which they deserve accolades.
Approximately 25 lakh active phone connections were scanned which were thoroughly scanned to zero in on a single phone number registered under the name Joseph in Kozhikode. This was the lead that led Vijayan and his team used to arrest Joseph, alias the Babu, the mastermind behind the heist, on February 27, 2008 who meticulously planned the robbery, drilled the ceiling alone and even broke open the lockers to steal gold and cash. Having nabbed the Babu it was easy for the cops to reach remaining tree accomplices. Details of this crime investigation have been precisely penned down by Anirban Bhattacharyya, producer of India’s longest-running crime show, Crime Patrol who has written many other books that have remained best-sellers for weeks together.
These four individuals, including a couple who joined hands to recreate Bollywood blockbuster ‘Dhoom,’ failed miserably. This entire episode has been narrated in such an articulate manner that one just can’t drop the book before he/she finishes it. The robbers had tried to mislead Kerala Police by scribbling message ‘Jai Mao’ on the wall to divert the attention of cops towards Naxals but failed is also an account of story worth reading.
The New Year’s Eve of December 31, 2007 when the serene town of Chelembra, Kerala shook the nation with a spectacular bank heist and how did the cops solve the case has been ably conserved in this book India’s Money Heist: The Chelembra Bank Robbery. Go grab your copy and start reading, especially if you are an avid reader of crime or thriller series. You surely will love each and every chapter that connects the dots to reach the robbers who acted wise yet were novice when it comes to policing in India.
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