Farsh Bazar heist: 1 of the guns may have been a toy
ON THURSDAY, 2 ARMED MEN HAD BARGED INTO A BANK AND LEFT WITH ₹8.9 LAKH BUT WERE CHASED BY COPS AND CIVILIANS, WHO CAUGHT ONE OF THEM AND RECOVERED THE LOOT
NEWDELHI: One of the two pistols used in the robbery of a bank in east Delhi’s Farsh Bazar on Thursday may have been a toy, the police said, after nabbing three suspects in connection with the crime.
Two armed men had barged into at a branch of Central Bank of India and left with ₹8.9 lakh, but were chased by the police and civilians, who caught one of the suspects, Vikas, and recovered the entire loot.
While Vikas was found carrying a pistol and a knife, his associate, who had threatened the bank staffers and customers with another gun, had managed to escape. He is still on the run.
Meanwhile, the police apprehended two other suspects, one of whom is allegedly a minor.
Amit Sharma, deputy commissioner of police (Shahdara), said that the suspects have claimed that the other gun used in the robbery was a “toy.”
“A mobile phone recovered from one of the suspects has photographs of the weapons used in the robbery. The image suggests that it was a toy, but we will know for sure only when we nab the fourth suspect and recover the weapon,” said DCP Sharma.
In March, an air pistol was used to nearly pull off a ₹40 lakh heist at a bank in outer Delhi’s Prashant Vihar, before the branch manager fought and overpowered the robber.
In Thursday’s robbery, DCP Sharma said that the gang of four had “randomly” chosen the bank in Farsh Bazar, after travelling from their hometown in Uttar Pradesh’s Amroha to the national Capital.
“They had not conducted any reconnaissance of the bank. Their intention was to land in Delhi, rob someone or some establishment and then flee to their hometown,” the DCP said.
While one suspect waited in an auto-rickshaw outside the bank, two others masked themselves using helmets and barged into the bank.
They took ₹8.9 lakh belonging to two customers, who were depositing them at a counter, police said.
The fourth suspect, claiming to be a minor, had allegedly provided logistical support to the suspects, an investigator said. A motorcycle used by the robbers in the crime was found to be stolen from east Delhi’s Nand Nagri on September 21, the police said.