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.
Meanwhile, a combined team of Ghaziabad Crime Branch, Special Operations Group (SOG) Rural and Masuri Police have arrested one accused after an encounter for allegedly looting petrol pump staff of Rs 22 lakhs. According to the information provided by the police, the accused has been identified as Mukesh. He is the main accused in the case. He is a resident of the Loni area of Ghaziabad.
Two accused, including Mukesh, got involved in an encounter on Saturday on a road leading to the Nahal road area of Ghaziabad. The main accused Mukesh was arrested. A pistol, Rs 10 lakh in cash and a motorcycle were recovered from his possession. The other is currently on the run.
According to the accused, information about the cash was given to him by a petrol pump worker named Asif. As per the police, Asif also has previous criminal involvement and has surrendered in relation to his previous case and he will be questioned in detail as well. The arrested accused Mukesh as well has over three dozens cases of dacoity/robbery/attempt to murder registered against him across Delhi, Ghaziabad and other districts of UP.
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