Four armed robbers looted valuables worth millions of rupees from a bank and injured its security guard at Main Walton Road in the Factory Area Police Station precincts in broad daylight on Monday. According to police, the robbers made their way off after looting Rs 1.2 million from the bank. According to details, four armed robbers, at around 2:30pm, broke into a branch of Meezan Bank and took the staff hostage on gunpoint and managed to flee after snatching millions of rupees from the cash counter.
Afterwards, local residents informed police, which immediately reached the spot and cordoned off the area and starting searching for the robbers but all in vain. Teams of the investigation wing and CIA also reached the spot and investigated the bank staff, security guards and people present inside the bank during the robbery. Investigators recorded statements of the bank staff and collected other evidences while they also watched footage of the CCTV cameras.
CIA Superintendent of Police (SP) Umer Virk told journalists that the robbers escaped after looting Rs 1.2 million in cash. He said that investigation is underway and police will soon arrest the criminals. On being contacted, Factory Area Naib Muharrar Aslam said that they have not registered any case until now. He said that police have not received any complaint of the mishap until now and will register a case after receiving the complaint.
Eyewitness Ijaz, a resident of Walton Road Area, said that he was completing the account opening form when he saw two young but suspicious men entering the bank. He said that only a few minutes later, another youngster, tried to enter the bank but got involved in a clash with the security guard during checking. Ijaz said that the security guard hit the suspect with a metal detector on which the suspect got infuriated and smashed the guard’s head with the butt of a pistol, which he brought out suddenly.
Resultantly, the guard was injured. The eyewitness said that another young man entered the bank and took the other security guard hostage on gunpoint. The fourth suspect also provided two pistols to the two robbers who were already inside the bank. Ijaz said that within no time, the robbers gathered four to five customers and around 15 bank employees at one point. He said that the robbers took them into the room of the branch manager where they threatened the staff with dire consequences. Ijaz said that two robbers collected millions of rupees from the cash counter and fled after locking the door from outside with a wire lock which they had brought with them. Ijaz, describing his and other victims’ condition, said that when robbers took the bank hostage, everyone was shivering and praying for his life.
He said that they were not able to move even after the robbers had fled. On March 14, a similar bank robbery took place at Raiwind, where three robbers looted Rs 0.6 million and fled after locking the branch from outside using a wire lock.
