Virar bank robbery: Killer banker lost all in the markets

Sacked Axis Bank manager Anil Dubey who is in police custody for killing his former colleague and grievously injuring another before looting his former workplace on Thursday last week has told investigators that he had been planning the robbery for a month He had lost money on the stock market and in various business venturesAn officer privy to the investigation said that Dubey was fond of gory crime web series on OTT platforms and crime serials on television Dubeyrsquos mobile phone was lost when people were beating him up on the day of the looting as he was trying to flee the spotldquoWe are searching for his mobile phone Once it is recovered we will be able to ascertain if he was watching any murder videos before killing the woman banker inside ICICI Bankrdquo said the officerAnil DubeyDubey entered the bank on Thursday evening on the pretext of discussing a job switch with the manager Yogita Chaudhary ldquoHe knew that there were only two women employees and no security guard at the bank He entered the bank with the clear intention of murdering both womenrdquo said the investigating officer and senior inspector of Virar police station Suresh VaradeldquoTo avoid getting detected in the CCTV footage he wore loose clothes an unusually large mask that covered most of his face a black turban to hide his halfbald head and a black tshirt so that blood stains are not seenrdquo Varade told middayVarade said Dubey had invested money in several businesses the share market etc and lost it all ldquoJack of all trades master of none He kept losing his money in the hope of good returnsrdquo said VaradeAlso read Virar bank robbery Exmanager booked for alleged misappropriation of fundsHad eye on current bankVarade added ldquoDubey had been thinking of looting a bank and was searching for a soft target At one point he had also thought of looting the bank he was working in but he knew he would be caught So he planned to loot his former workplacerdquo said another officerYogita Chaudhary the deceased right Shraddha Devrukhkar the survivorldquoDuring interrogation Dubey told us that he planned to disappear immediately in the lane adjacent to the bankrdquo the officer addedldquoThough we are checking his criminal antecedents he seems to have committed this horrendous crime out of frustration of not getting money to repay his loansrdquo he said Dubey told the police he invested in an online trading application but lost his savings there The zonal Deputy Commissioner of Police DCP Prashant Waghunde said ldquoHe told us that he was using an application lsquoZerodharsquo to invest money but he lost all his money We are checking his financial transactionsrdquoldquoBefore joining ICICI Bank Dubey worked in an Indian private sector bank in Virarrdquo Varade said Dubey studied Bachelor of Computer Applications BCA and came to Mumbai to look for work around a decade ago He is a native of Jaunpur district of Uttar Pradesh and lives with his wife two children and mother in Nalasopara WestA crowd outside the bank on the day of the incident on Thursday last weekNeighbours in shockmidday visited Dubeyrsquos home but no one answered the door The chairman of the society said that he came to reside in the society two years ago ldquoWe heard about the bank looting in Virar on Thursday night On Friday morning the police entered our society and we were speechless as we did not know why they had come We learnt later on that the robber lives in our societyrdquo said the chairman who did not wish to be namedDubeyrsquos colleagues told midday that he would always talk about investments and returns ldquoThough he was a little disturbed because of the losses we never thought he would commit a crime He is professionally soundrdquo said a colleague of Dubeyrsquos requesting anonymityDubey worked in Manvelpada branch of ICICI Bank in Virar until August 2020Dubeyrsquos getaway carA spokesperson from Axis bank said that Dubey had taken leave for personal reasons on the day of the lootingAfter the lootingAfter the 13 minutes of terror during which the murder and looting lasted Dubey stepped out of the bank carrying gold biscuits in his backpack and two metal boxes filled with cash collectively worth Rs 338 croreAn eyewitness told midday that he saw a woman in bloodstained clothes shouting for help after opening the glass door of the bank ldquoWhen I turned right I saw a man carrying two metal boxes in his hands and one black backpack rushing into a lane next to the bank I ran after him and gestured to the men in the lane to catch himrdquo said the eyewitnessDubey was heading towards his getaway car that he had parked at the end of the laneldquoAfter we caught him in the lane he told us that lsquomai bank ka bada saahab hu mujhe jaane dorsquo Then we dragged him to the bank and saw a woman Shraddha Devrukhkar the survivor in bloodsoaked clothes She was having spasms and the blood had spilt all over the floorrdquo said one of the men who caught Dubey with the lootDubey was beaten up by the public after the lootingBy that time hundreds of people gathered at the spot as the bank is located right opposite the Virar railway stationThe shopkeepers who caught Dubey redhanded snatched the loot from him and kept the backpack and two metal boxes inside the ATM booth next to the bankThe enraged mob thrashed Dubey before the police could arrive at the spot and in the chaos his mobile phone was misplacedRs 338 crAmount Dubey collected in the metal boxes