Robbers escape with cash, gold worth Rs9.4m

CCTV cameras at the civil secretariat branch of the NBP were non-functional because of the ongoing construction work.

MUZAFFARABAD: Robbers escaped with Rs2.2 million and Rs7.2 million worth of gold after breaking into the civil secretariat branch of the National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) late Monday night.

According to the police officials, the bank’s security guard, Sagheer Shah, came back after having dinner to find robbers already hiding in the bank. The robbers took him hostage at gun-point and broke into the bank vault with the help of a gas welding machine from where they stole the cash and gold.

Initial investigations revealed that construction work was in process in the bank when the robbery took place, and cutters and other instruments used in the robbery were possibly already present on the scene. Bank officials said that the the bank's CCTV cameras were also non-functional because of the construction work.

The police have launched a hunt to catch the robbers. The security guard is also included in the investigation.