All about the cash: Robber escapes with Rs1.1m in first bank heist of the year

KARACHI: In the first bank robbery of 2015, a man walked out of the bank with Rs1.1million within five minutes.

The suspect, a man wearing a white shalwar kameez and prayer cap, walked into a branch of Bank Al Habib in Sakhi Hassan at 12:50pm and shouted that he was holding a bomb. He threatened to blow himself up if anyone put up resistance.

There were a dozen staff members and three security guards present at the bank at the time of the incident. The staff and security personnel evacuated the building within seconds as the young man threatened to explode again.

"What else could we do?" asked a staff member. "The man was holding a gun in one hand and a bomb in the other. The guards ran out of the bank before us."

According to the CCTV footage obtained by the police, the suspect entered the bank with a pistol. He warned the staff and security guards to step away or he would detonate. The footage suggests that the man was carrying explosive material, which could be a hand grenade.

The robber, which was successful, was flawed. Once at the cash counter, the robber was unable to load his gun. He then proceeded to break the counter's glass shield and walked around the counter to fill his bag with cash. Money in hand, the robber proceeded to walk out of the bank but walked back inside because he had forgotten his pistol.

His gateway ride, a motorcycle caused him further delays as he was unable to get it running.

Following the robbery, the police have taken the three security guards - identified as Abdul Haq, Pir Muhammad and Aurangzeb, into custody for negligence and not responding to the situation.

"It was like watching a cartoon," said SHO Humayun Ahmed. "The robber was like a monkey. The guards had time to retaliate but they did not." The officer added that they still have to ascertain if the weapon being carried by the robber was real. Due to an increase in robberies, the police have been advised to patrol banks during work hours. The SHO said that at the time of the robbery, they were busy with security detail outside mosques and imambargahs in the area for Friday prayers. He added that the security guards at the banks were part of the backup force.

Police officials claimed that the accused will be arrested with help from the National Database Registration Authority as they had managed to obtain his finger prints. The police have registered FIR No 117/15 on behalf of the bank manager, Muhammad Danish. Last year, around 22 bank robberies were reported in the city.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 28^th, 2015.