4 armed robbers loot bank branch of Rs 7.63 lakh

Our Correspondent

Tarn Taran, October 18

Four armed robbers looted Rs 7.63 lakh from the Jamarai bank branch of Punjab National Bank, 30 km from here, today in the broad daylight.

Senior Superintendent of Police Darshan Singh Mann along with other higher officials visited the spot to have first-hand information regarding the incident. The bank is situated on the road in the Mand area village, which was a hotbed for militants during the militancy days. The bank had no security guard and nor were the doors of the bank even partially locked at the time of the incident. However, the whole incident with clear faces of the robbers has been recorded on the bank’s CCTV cameras.

Himanshu Singla, branch manager of the bank, said the robbers entered the bank branch, as their were only four customers present inside the bank at that time. The manager also said that two of the robbers on gun point detained all three members of the bank staff and the other two robbers handled the costumers, telling them not to create any hurdle for them. Singla said the robbers ordered them to hand over the keys to the strong room of the bank to them; otherwise they would shoot them. The keys were given to them, said the bank manager.

The robbers collected the whole cash from the bank and fled away from the spot without any fear, said the branch manager of the bank.

He said the bank had no security guard, adding that the it had submitted a request to provide the bank branch with security with the head office, which was under consideration of the authorities.

SSP Mann said action would be taken against the SHO, Goindwal Sahib, in charge of the police post Dehra Sahib and the munshi of the police station, Goindwal Sahib.

The SSP said police parties had been dispatched to different locations.The fingerprints from the spot, too, had been collected to identify the robbers.