The 54-year-old Assistant Manager reportedly robbed the Horana ATM to cover his expenses on women.

Trust is something more valuable than money, something that cannot be rebuilt once broken. A deeply shocking story has now been reported from the Horana area, where a bank official, who enjoys the highest recognition in society and is responsible for safeguarding the wealth earned through the sweat and toil of thousands of people, betrayed the honor of his position and the boundless trust of the public for the temporary pleasures of a debauched life.

The Paliyagoda North Criminal Division has now confirmed that the mastermind behind the mysterious daylight robbery of an enormous sum of three and a half crore rupees from the People's Bank located in the heart of Horana town is none other than the Assistant Manager of the same bank. A security officer from the same bank, who provided full support to execute this elaborate scheme, reported on June 3rd, very subtly and systematically, was also arrested yesterday (05) by the investigating officers.

The most tragic and shocking fact revealed during police investigations is the hidden dark lifestyle of the Assistant Manager, which was the basis for this massive crime. Although he appeared as an important, responsible gentleman in society during the day, he led an extremely luxurious, excessive, and debauched life behind the scenes at night. According to what has been revealed to the investigating officers, this Assistant Manager maintained secret and illicit relationships with numerous women of various statuses, including models. He was accustomed to spending money limitlessly, like water, to please these women and to maintain his false social status.

His limitless extravagance on nightclubs, expensive parties, and women eventually led him to the brink of an insurmountable mountain of debt. It is said that due to his out-of-control spending habits, he faced a severe financial crisis and mental distress. To escape this destructive debt trap he had dug for himself, he ultimately chose to rob the very bank he worked for and that paid his salary, in broad daylight. For this, he enlisted a security officer from the same bank as his accomplice and orchestrated a very complex charade.

He devised a meticulous plan to commit this crime on June 3rd. On the day of the incident, he took three and a half crore rupees, consisting only of five thousand rupee notes, out of the bank's main vault, stating that it was to be transported to ATMs in other branches, placing the money in two cloth bags bearing the bank's logo. Subsequently, while leaving the bank with two security officers, he frantically made a false complaint to the bank's General Manager, claiming that an unknown person, who had approached on foot within the bank premises, suddenly snatched the two money bags and fled.

The bank manager, greatly agitated by this unexpected incident, immediately came out of the bank and searched the surroundings, but he could not see any suspicious person or fleeing vehicle. Realizing the gravity of the situation, he promptly called the 119 emergency hotline to inform the police. Although the Assistant Manager, who was in charge of the money bags after the robbery, was taken to the police and questioned repeatedly by officers, he performed his act extremely successfully, so the provincial police were initially unable to obtain any significant clues.

However, realizing the seriousness of the disappearance of such a massive public fund of three and a half crore rupees, the Inspector General of Police decided to immediately refer the investigations to the Paliyagoda North Criminal Division, which consists of more experienced officers. As the new investigative team arrived and meticulously and technically observed the CCTV footage of the bank and its surroundings, the curtain on this grand charade gradually began to tear.

Although the Assistant Manager was recorded on camera taking money from the vault that morning, it caught the sharp eye of the investigating officers that he was preparing to leave with the money several hours later in the afternoon. Furthermore, despite cameras being installed inside the bank, the fact that no CCTV camera was directed towards an auxiliary exit door from the bank premises further intensified the officers' suspicion. Moreover, since no suspicious person fleeing with two bags containing a large sum of three and a half crore rupees was recorded on any surrounding camera, the police concluded that the money had not left the bank premises.

The most crucial turning point in the investigations was the revelation that the Assistant Manager had secretly worked to even deactivate the bank's security camera system at the critical moment when the alleged robbery occurred. Faced with continuous questioning and the accumulation of evidence, the helpless suspects could no longer conceal their crime. Accordingly, officers of the Criminal Division were also able to find fourteen lakh rupees of the allegedly stolen money hidden very secretly within the bank itself.

The 54-year-old Assistant Manager, a resident of Gangoda, Wewala area, considered the mastermind of this intricate crime, and the 43-year-old security officer from Bulathsinhala area who assisted him, are currently being held under strict security by the Western Province North Criminal Division. Today (06), detention orders are expected to be obtained against them from the court. Meanwhile, considering a special request made by the Western Province North Criminal Division, Horana Chief Magistrate Mrs. Lakmini Vidanagamage has already ordered the summoning of the suspects' phone network analysis reports and the issuance of special search warrants to inspect their homes and hidden properties.

No matter how meticulous the act, a criminal cannot escape the law forever. The story of this high-ranking bank official, who, enslaved by a luxurious false life and temporary carnal pleasures, betrayed his professional honor built over decades, his family name, and ultimately his freedom to the iron bars of a prison cell, is an extremely powerful lesson for the entire society, revealing how tragic the final stop of excessive greed can be.