Bank in Gulshan-e-Iqbal robbed by security guard, three others

A security guard having criminal record, who was recently released on bail after four-year incarceration, broke open along with his three companions as many as 66 lockers of a private bank in the Gulshan-e-Iqbal neighbourhood and ran away with cash and jewellery worth millions of rupees.

There were around 84 lockers in the bank and it appeared that the robbers broke open 66 of them and made off with cash and jewellery worth approximately millions of rupees as the exact amount would only be ascertained after assessing claims of all the lockers’ owners.

The incident came into notice when the manager of the branch, Syed Muhammad Ashraf Zaidi, reached the branch located near Disco Bakery in Gulshan-e-Iqbal Block 3 at around 7:30pm on Sunday after a citizen lodged a complaint at the bank’s head office that the ATM installed at the branch was not working.

When he attempted to open the door, the manager found it locked from inside. “While trying to open the door, I saw a security guard, Mukhtiar, tied up,” the manager narrated. “Then I immediately informed the head office, the security company and police about the incident.”

Soon, police personnel and staff of the bank and the security company reached the site and found two security guards tied up inside a storeroom at the branch. One of the security guards, Mukhtiar, told the police that when he reached the bank for duty at 7pm on Sunday, he found the night shift security guard, Aslam, lying on the floor in an injured state inside the storeroom. “Before I could help him [Aslam], Kashif and his companions caught me and also tied my hands with rope and locked me inside the storeroom,” he explained. “They also beat me up when I tried to offer resistance.”

Quoting the initial investigations, police officials said a security guard, identified as Syed Kashif Ali Raza, was involved in the robbery. They added that Kashif with the help of his three companions broke 66 lockers at the private bank.

The robbers were trained as they had brought a gas cutter and other equipment with them to break the lockers, the officials said, adding that the robbers took away cash and jewellery from the lockers.

Police investigators said the robbers took the bank’s DVR system along with them as they fled and also snatched two weapons, including a TT pistol and a repeater rifle, from the security guards.

According to the police, the key suspect, Kashif, had a criminal background as he had been wanted to the police in various cases of theft and snatching. “Kashif has already spent four-year term in jail for robbing a bank in North Nazimabad as he and his companions were arrested in 2013,” said Gulshan Division SP Tahir Noorani. “But he was later released on bail from jail in 2017.”

Six cases were earlier registered against Kashif who was deputed as a security guard at the bank one month ago, police officials said. Zone East police chief DIG Amir Farooqui said an inquiry had been ordered to ascertain how the security guard got clearance before he was recruited by the security company and deputed at the bank.

The investigators said they had collected evidence including fingerprints to trace and arrest the suspects. Regard the total worth of money and items robbed, police officials said they had no idea about it yet and the bank staff was calculating the estimate of the robbed jewellery and other valuables.

As the news of the incident spread on the media, a score of locker owners, including men and women, reached the branch to inquire about their belongings and staged a protest against the incident.

The protesters chanted slogans against the bank management for being guilty of negligence. They also raised suspicions about the involvement of bank staff in the theft as they had hired the services of the security guard without any background check.

They also demanded that their stolen belongings be recovered and returned to them. The protesters ended their demonstration after the police assured them that they would leave no stone unturned in catching the suspects.

The police have registered an FIR No 128/19 against the security guard and his companions under the sections 392/337/34 on behalf of the bank manager. Inspector General of Police Sindh Dr Syed Kaleem Imam have also sought separate detailed reports from the DIG Criminal Investigation Agency and Zone East DIG on the incident.