Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh): Uttar Pradesh has seen at least three incidents of robbery involving two banks and staff of a petrol pump this week with robbers looting nearly Rs 50 lakh. In the first incident on March 28, three bike-borne robbers looted some petrol pump personnel carrying Rs 22 lakhs in cash at gunpoint. The staff of Arihant Petrol Pump in the Masuri area were going to deposit the money at HDFC Bank, Govindpuram in Ghaziabad when the robbers looted the money.
The second incident took place on Saturday when robbers barged into the Punjab National Bank in Noor Nagar under the Nand Gram police station area of Ghaziabad. Four armed miscreants entered the bank and fled with about Rs 7 to 8 lakh after holding the cashier at gunpoint. Speaking to the media Praveen Kumar IG Meerut Zone said that the bank branch did not have security systems as mandated by the RBI.
He also said that police have informed the bank officials earlier regarding the issue. "But even then the incident took place during which the miscreants snatched about Rs 7 to Rs 8 lakh from the cashier and fled from the spot. We have collected evidence and started an investigation. We will take stern action against the accused. We will also see whether the negligence by the bank branch amounts to criminal liability," said Kumar.
Later in the evening of the same day, another bank robbery took place where three masked men looted Rs 18 lakh from a private bank in Bulandshahr. SSP Santosh Kumar Singh said that the miscreants carried out the robbery while holding the staff at gunpoint and then fled from the spot. He also said that police have set up more than six teams to nab the accused.