Rs 7.50 lakh robbed at gunpoint from SBI

Tribune News Service

Mohali, July 25

A masked robber looted Rs 7.50 lakh at gunpoint from the State Bank of India branch at the Industrial Area, Phase VII, here today.

The incident occurred around 2.15 pm. A bank employee sustained injuries while attempting to catch the robber, who fled in his Volkswagen car, which he had parked near the bank. The robber appeared to be in his mid-20s.

According to the police, the robber, who was wearing a red cap and had his face covered with a hankerchief, entered the bank branch, which had no security guard, brandishing a pistol and fired into the air. “After issuing a warning, he went to the cashier and asked him to hand over the cash. He stuffed the cash in the rucksack, which he was carrying on his back, and fled away,” said the police.

When the robber was running towards his car, bank cashier Gaurav and peon Ashwani Kumar chased him while raising the alarm. A young onlooker, Manvir Singh, also followed the robber and hit him, but the latter managed to sit in his car. Some cash fell from the robber’s bag in the melee. Ashwani attempted to break the windowpane of the car, but the robber hit the peon with his vehicle following which the bumper of the car also broke. Ashwani sustained injuries on his foot and leg.

Talking to Chandigarh Tribune, SSP Kuldeep Singh Chahal said the police recovered a bullet shell from the spot. The police also recovered a part of the car’s registration number plate on which HP 93 was mentioned.

The robber has been caught on a CCTV camera.

The SSP said teams had been dispatched to various locations to nab the robber.

DSP Alam Vijay Singh, who reached the spot, said they had got vital clues in the case. The robber would soon be in the police net, said the DSP.

According to sources, the bank has no security guard and no security alarm system. A case has been registered at the Phase I police station.