Bank robbery: Security guard of Bank Al-Habib linked to two other bank robberies

The gang hails from Parachinar, says police.

KARACHI: The police have identified the four men who robbed over Rs9.5 million from Bank Al-Habib’s Tipu Sultan Road branch on Monday night.

At least four armed men entered into the branch of the Habib Bank Limited situated near Nursery. The security guard was identified as Najaf Shah and is the prime suspect in the investigation.

Shah joined a private security company on February 2, 2012, this year and was posted at the bank on the 22nd of this month. SHO Haji Sanaullah said that Shah had a criminal record and was also involved in two other bank robberies, in Maripur and Gulshan-e-Iqbal, in 2010 and 2011.

“We have been able to trace the identity of the group,” said Sanaullah. “All the members belong to Parachinar and are Pushto-speaking. So far we haven’t found any affiliation with terrorist or jihadi groups.”

From the CCTV footage it was found that the four men gun men, in trousers and shirt, entered the bank and held eight to ten members of the bank staff hostage. The security guard opened the gates for them. They took around 25 minutes to loot the money which they stuffed into gunny bags.

The staff said that they were present at the bank late at night because there was a problem with money recounting. The police also suspect some bank employees.

A case has been registered which will be investigated by the Special Investigation Unit.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 25^th, 2012.