In CCTV footage recorded of the crime, complainant Sanjay Patil can be seen sitting immobile, while another man takes wads of currency notes from his hand, takes a share of them, and walks away
The accused and complainant who was a victim of hypnotized robbey
In a bizarre crime that defies reason, a man was robbed while counting notes inside a bank, by a thief who allegedly ‘hypnotised’ him. The complainant Sanjay Patil, who is a motorman by profession, has told the police that the incident took place on August 8, after he withdrew money from his bank in Vasai.
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CAUGHT ON CAMERA: The accused, wearing a cap (top), can be seen sitting next to the complainant Sanjay Patil (inset)
According to the complaint lodged by Patil at Manikpur police station in Vasai (West), he withdrew Rs 2 lakh from his account, and sat on a chair nearby, to count the money. “I started counting the first bundle,” said Patil. After going through the first wad of notes, he kept it on the chair next to him, and proceeded to count the other.
One of the accomplices can be seen entering the bank.
At this juncture, Patil says he was accosted by a stranger, who advised him not to accept notes starting with the letters ‘BK’. “He asked me to get them changed. I didn’t pay heed to his comment and continued counting.”
The accused mixing the notes while Patil sits immobile
The next thing that Patil remembers is counting the notes and discovering that they didn’t add up to Rs 2 lakh. Patil approached the cashier, who told him that the entire amount of Rs 2 lakh had been handed over to him, minutes earlier.
Patil then approached the bank manager to lodge a complaint. When he was shown CCTV footage from earlier in the day, he was shocked. He saw the accused mixing the two currency bundles, while he sat and stared, immobile. After this, the stranger was seen picking up many of the notes, stashing them in his pocket, and walking away. “There were three others in the footage, who were covering their accomplice and me, while the theft took place,” added Patil, who claims to have jolted back to his senses only after several minutes.
The bank then advised him to approach the police station. Senior Inspector of Manikpur police station, KS Hegaje, said, “We are still investigating the matter. Seeing the CCTV footage of the bank, we can conclude that this was not the first time they committed such a crime. We are looking at previous criminal records, which will take some time.” A case has been registered under Section 420 of the Indian Penal Code.
Patil had withdrawn the money in order to pay his son’s fees for a course in a hotel management school.
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