Gurgaon: In a daring daylight dacoity, five armed youths looted Rs 1.48 crore at gunpoint from a branch of the Oriental Bank of Commerce on the premises of the Ansal Institute of Technology in Sector 56 here today. They escaped in a car without any trace till the filing of this report even as a massive manhunt has been launched to nab them. The sensational dacoity involving such a huge amount is the first case of its kind in this cyber city. The incident reportedly took place around 11 am as the youths, said to be in the 23-25 age group, forced their entry into the bank after snatching the rifle of the security guard on duty.

They hit and overpowered him as well as two customers present inside. This happened after the guard resisted their entry on suspecting their credentials as the bank’s customers. Four of them entered the bank while one stood guard outside. Flaunting revolvers, they forced the employees to get inside the locker room and locked it from outside. All this while, they entered the strong room and escaped with the booty in a white WagonR bearing the registration plate of Uttar Pradesh. Its exact number is unknown.

The police came to know about the incident after a customer, who identified himself as Sukhbir, informed the police control room. Unmindful of what was happening inside, he entered the bank for some transaction. He was caught by the accused, but he managed to free himself. Interestingly, the accused did not try to break open any locker nor hurt anybody. The terrified employees also did not offer any resistance.

DCP (east) Jagdish Nagar told The Tribune that the accused were successful in their attempt and could made good their escape probably because most of the police force was deployed in the area near Gurgaon where farmers of five villages were opposing the construction of an SEZ being developed by Reliance. The police has sealed the borders with Delhi, Rajasthan and UP. Its counterparts in other districts in the National Capital Region have also been alerted.

Courtesy: Tribune News Service