Robber enters bank, pulls out gun, loots Rs 8.65 lakh

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, February 8

In a daylight robbery, an armed assailant looted Rs 8.65 lakh from a branch of Chandigarh State Cooperative Bank in Sector 61 today.

The bank is a stone’s throw from a police post, a fact that has left the Chandigarh Police red-faced.

The suspect had his face covered with a handkerchief and casually walked into the bank and claimed that he wanted to enquire about his account. He then reportedly pulled out a gun. There were four employees, including two women, in the bank at the time of the incident, but nobody raised the alarm.

Amarjeet Singh, one of the bank employees, said the suspect had his gun pointed at a woman employee. “He then came towards the cash counter and pointed the gun at me,” he said.

Amarjeet said the suspect, who appeared to be in his 30s, asked him to hand over the cash or he would shoot him. He then handed over the bag containing the cash to the suspect. The suspect, before fleeing, asked the employees not to leave the premises for five minutes. The police said there was no security guard at the bank. A few minutes after the robber left, a woman employee went to the police post and cops rushed to the bank to look into the incident. Soon, various police teams reached the spot and initiated an investigation.

The police suspect that the robber escaped in a black car that was parked on the road on the rear side of the bank.

“The robber is suspected to have escaped towards Mohali in a black car in which his accomplice was waiting,” said a cop. A team of the Mohali police also visited the spot and questioned the employees.

Meanwhile, a case under Sections 392 of the IPC and Sections 25, 54 and 59 of the Arms Act has been registered at the Sector 36 police station.

Police post stone’s throw from spot

The police post in Sector 61 is just a stone’s throw (nearly 10 metres) in the same block from the bank branch where the robbery took place. The police, however, came to know about the incident only after a bank employee went to inform them after the robber fled the spot.

Fled in black car

“The robber is suspected to have escaped towards Mohali in a black car with his accomplice,” said a police official.