Kollam

A 76-year-old man has been sentenced to 13 years in prison and fined Rs 16,000 for his role in a robbery at the Nallurnad Service Cooperative Bank in Wayanad in 1988.

Additional District and Sessions Court Judge L Jayavanth sentenced Kollam native Abdul Samad in the case. He will undergo another 10 months in prison if he fails to pay the fine.

According to police, the robbery took place in the early hours of January 8, 1988, when a six-member gang broke into the bank.

The gang arrived in a car, broke the locks and entered the bank.

The robbers took away a safe, nearly one kilogram of gold ornaments and Rs 5,544 in cash.

According to the prosecution, two persons who reached the bank after hearing the noise were attacked with a crowbar.

Four of the accused -- Subair, Suresh Babu, Alikkutty and Naseer -- were arrested and sentenced in 1993.

Another accused, O K Babu, who had remained absconding, surrendered before the court in 2017 and was later sentenced.

Police arrested Samad in October 2024. He faced trial while in judicial custody.

The court examined around 40 witnesses in the case. The prosecution produced 166 documents as evidence and 21 material objects seized under the mahazar before the court.

The initial investigation was conducted by the then Mananthavady police and it was later taken over by District CB-CID.

Public Prosecutor E R Santhosh Kumar appeared for the prosecution.