Swift operation: Rs4.7m stolen, guard killed in two bank heists in an hour

Police claim that the robbery at Faysal Bank was assisted by security guard.

KARACHI: A private security guard lost his life as robbers walked away with over Rs4.7 million in two bank heists that occurred within an hour in the city on Friday.

A branch of the Faysal Bank was robbed exactly half an hour after a branch of the United Bank Limited (UBL) was looted.

The first robbery took place when a group of robbers stormed into UBL’s Paposh Nagar branch at 10am. First, they snatched the weapons from the two private security guards and a police constable deployed at the bank and then held the staff and customers hostage at gunpoint.

“One of them wore Shalwar Kameez while the others were dressed in pants and shirts. They were speaking to each other in Urdu,” said investigating officer Qurban Ali. “They [robbers] also dumped the weapons snatched from the guards and the policeman outside the bank before fleeing.”



Ali added that they, however, did not take the CCTV footage away with them. According to him, the robbers managed to loot Rs3.2 million from the bank. They drove to the bank on three motorcycles and one car and reportedly had backup support too. A case has been registered against unidentified persons on behalf of the bank manager, Abdul Wahid.

In the second bank heist that took place at 10:30am, six robbers entered the branch of Faysal Bank in Bufferzone area within the limits of Taimuria police station. One security guard of the private security company, Muskan Security Company, lost his life when he offered resistance. The deceased was identified as 38-year-old Ramzan, son of Mehmood Asghar.

Police officials said that a total two private security guards were deployed at the bank and the second guard, Sharafat, who hails from Swat, might have assisted the robbers. “Sharafat helped the robbers complete their swift operation,” said investigation officer Mohammad Sajid. “He escaped along with the robbers.” The officer further said that the robbers were clad in Shalwar Kameez and pants and shirts and were speaking to each other in Pashtu language, adding that they managed to loot around 1.5 million from the bank.

The robbers came to the bank in a white colour high-roof.  They took away the CCTV footage before escaping. A case has been registered against unidentified persons on behalf of the bank manager, Rao Faisal. Special Investigation Unit chief SP Farooq Awan said that the investigation was underway, however, the initial investigation suggests that separate groups of robbers were behind both the incidents.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 2^nd, 2013.