Bank robbery: Gone with Rs4m in seven minutes

KARACHI:

In the 14th bank robbery of the year, six men dressed in shalwar kameez managed to escape with four million rupees on Wednesday.

The authorities suspect that it was an inside job and have taken the security guard into custody for investigation. At 11 am, the men barged into Habib Metropolitan Bank, Gulshan-e-Iqbal branch and snatched the rifle from Maqbool, the security guard. The robbers held the staff hostage and ordered the bank manager to open the strong room. They left seven minutes later with four million rupees.

The Aziz Bhatti police said that the robbers operated like professionals. They added that their assured movements suggest that an insider was involved. SHO Kanson Dean said that the men also stole six mobile phones and took the CCTV footage system with them. He added that the bank’s security system was inefficient and the guards were inexperienced. While the authorities are trying to verify if the suspects arrived in a white Suzuki Hi-roof, witnesses claim that they arrived in a white Suzuki pick up. A case was registered on behalf of the bank manager Salman Siddiqui.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 24^th, 2011.