Teachers held hostage in Rs10.5m bank heist

TANDO ALLAHYAR: At least five robbers barged into a private bank in Tando Allah Yar, robbed it of Rs10.5 million and escaped with three accomplices on Friday.

A large number of teachers were gathered to collect their salaries from the bank, which is located near the main bus stop on the road that connects Tando Allah Yar to Mirpurkhas and Hyderabad.

According to the bank’s security guard, a man entered the bank at 9:20 am. He scanned the room as if he was looking for someone and left immediately. As soon as the man stepped out, a group of five robbers entered the bank and headed straight towards the guard.

“Two of the robbers grabbed my throat and hit me in the stomach with the butt of their gun,” said the guard, adding that they took his weapon and stood over his head while the other three robbers proceeded to the cash counter.

At the counter, the robbers held the teachers hostage and demanded money from the manager, who had left his desk to do some work. The robbers took Rs4.5 million in cash and Rs6 million worth of travellers’ cheques.

Witness Pir Buksh, a teacher who had come to collect his salary, told Daily Express that “one of the robbers cut the wire of the surveillance camera and pocketed it after taking it off the wall”.

“They were wearing cotton shalwar kameez and looked like students,” Buksh said. “They did not talk to each other during the robbery and none of us dared to utter a word,” he added.

Buksh believed that had there had been more security guards present, the robbers could have been stopped. “Since it was one guard against three robbers, they easily overcame him,” he said. Another witness said that there were a total of eight robbers, three of who were waiting outside in a car.

The guard estimated that the entire robbery lasted only 15 minutes. As soon as news spread, media teams reached the bank but they were not allowed to enter until the police vans arrived.

When the bank was opened for the media, there were at least 12 customers and bank employees present inside. Even though there were no women present, witnesses claimed that they were there when the robbery took place.

SPO Tando Allah Yar Ghulam Mustafa Zardari and SHO Tando Allah Yar Arbab Soomro were present but they refused to give any information. They also tried to stop reporters from covering the robbery.

The bank manager appeared distraught when he was approached. He was reluctant to give too many details and he excused himself after informing the media the amount of money that the robbers looted.

This is the biggest heist in Tando Allah Yar since the robbery at the United Bank Limited (UBL) almost two years ago.

The UBL van was on its way to Tando Allah Yar to deposit cash at their bank when it was intercepted by three men, who stole Rs10 million. The robbers held the guard hostage and took him off the road, into a mango farm, where they tortured him so much that even when they were escaping he could not reach for his gun and shoot at them.

The police failed to make any arrests and they have yet to find the culprits. SP Investigations Aslam Rajput, who is still at the same position, was assigned the case when the robbery took place but to no avail. DPO Altaf Leghari, who is in Matiari now, was posted in Tando Allah Yar at that time.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 4^th, 2010.