Daily Times

KARACHI: An operational manager of the United Bank Limited (UBL) was shot dead in a bid to foil a bank robbery near Noorani Kabab House within the limits of Ferozabad police station on Tuesday afternoon. The robbers, however, succeeded in taking the looted cash away with them while fleeing.

A gang of robbers comprised on at least four members entered a branch of UBL located near Noorani Kabab House. While entering the bank, the robbers first held a lonely security guard hostage at gunpoint and later hostage the staffers and customers. The robbers then looted a cash worth over Rs600, 000 from a cash counter.

The robbers also killed the bank manager before fleeing. Deceased was identified as Abdul Rahim Motiwala, 40. He was shot once in his head and died at the spot. His body was taken to Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre for autopsy.

Extra contingent of law enforcers reached the site and collected the evidences. Police investigators said that the incident occurred over offering resistance on a robbing bid. “The bank manager was outside a bank when the robbers were fleeing after looting cash from the bank,” explained Jamshed division SP Dr Muhammad Rizwan. “As the manager had seen the robbers while entering a bank, he continued to offer resistance from outside.”

The officer said that the deceased manager also attempted and offered resistance when the robbers were fleeing after committing the robbery. “The manager managed to grabbed the hand of one of the robbers while they were fleeing, upon which the robber opened fire at him, killing him at a spot,” the officer explained.

The robbers were clad in Shalwar Kameez and had arrived on a Suzuki pickup. They just took at least one and a half minutes to complete their swift operation; however, they did not take the CCTV cameras installed at the bank away with them while fleeing.

The police investigators, however, have obtained CCTV footage from a bank and started trying to trace them. “They escaped towards the Khudadad Colony,” the officer said. “They are traceable and we are trying to trace them with the help of cameras installed at the routes which the robbers used to escape.”

Deceased was a resident of Federal B Area and was a father of three children. His body was later handed over to the family for burial process. The case was registered against unidentified persons while further investigation was underway.

Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah, Sindh home minister Sohail Anwar Siyal and IGP Sindh Allah Dino Khowaja took notice of the incident and sought report from the police officials concerned about the incident and ordered them to arrest the culprits.

Published in Daily Times, August 9^th 2017.