In the second such incident in the district this month, about Rs 4.50 crore worth gold and Rs three lakh in cash were looted from a nationalised bank branch, police said today.
Employees of the public sector Vijaya Bank branch at Cheruvathur detected the robbery only this morning after a two-day holiday.
District Police Chief A Srinivas said 19 kg gold along with the cash kept in three lockers had been stolen.
The robbers had gained entry into the bank in the first floor of the building by drilling through concrete slabs. A group of migrant labourers had been engaged in remodelling works in the ground floor to run an outlet, he said.
A special squad led by Circle Inspector K E Preman was formed to probe the robbery, he said.
Preliminary investigations suggested that the robbery would have taken place on Saturday itself, Kanhangad DySP K Harishchandra Naik said.
In a daring daylight robbery on September seven, a group of five masked men had decamped with nearly 21 kg of gold ornaments and Rs 12 lakh in cash from the Eriyal branch of Kudulu Service Co-operative Bank in the district.
Later five persons were arrested in connection with the heist and half of the looted ornaments was recovered from them.
