Nagpur man flings chili powder at SBI staff, flees with ₹4.5 lakh; nabbed in 30 mins

 A 28-year-old masked man threw chilli powder at bank employees, grabbed ₹4.53 lakh in cash, and fled into the street in south Nagpur on Thursday evening, police said.

He didn’t get far and police caught him within 30 minutes with the entire stash.

Police said the suspect was identified as Suraj Borkar, a science graduate from Tatoli area of Nagpur’s Bhivapur tehsil.

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The incident took place at the State Bank of India (SBI) branch in south Nagpur’s Sakkardara area.

As some bank personnel returned to the branch at Bhande Plot after collecting cash from an ATM on Thursday evening, a man dressed in a kurta, his face covered with a white cloth, entered the premises along with bank customers.

According to widely circulated CCTV video clips, he crept up behind the employees at the cash counter and started hurling handfuls of chilli powder into their faces. HT cannot verify the authenticity of the video clip. As blinded staff reeled in pain, the intruder picked ₹4.53 lakh in cash and bolted into the street.

Some bank staffers raised an alarm and ran after Borkar.

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Some beat marshals, and the police station’s crime detection team joined the chase and managed to nab the suspect. The entire amount was recovered within half an hour, said Ramesh Khune, police in-charge of the Sakkardara police station.

Borkar told the police team that he had been jobless and struggling.

Police said a case has been registered against Borkar. Investigators are looking into the available evidence to ascertain if Borkar acted alone or had help.