four men then entered the bank and brandished pistols.
An infamous Punjabi gangster identified as Ravi Balachauria and four accomplices stole Rs. 7.7 Lakh (£8,800) from a Punjab National Bank branch in Phagwara, Punjab, India.
The incident happened on Tuesday, September 3, 2019, at around 12:15 pm.
Balachauria was identified as one of the five suspects after officers showed several photographs of him to people in the area.
According to officers, the group had taken the bank staff and customer’s mobile phones at gunpoint. They then threw them on the floor before leaving the bank.
An investigation was underway following a complaint from the bank manager.
Suvinder Singh Matharu told officers that at around 12:15 pm, a young man had entered the bank and went to the desk.
Staff members believed that he was a customer withdrawing or depositing some money.
However, a short while later, four men then entered the bank and brandished pistols.
The five men then snatched the mobile phones from the four employees and five customers at gunpoint.
Balachauria and his accomplices then went to the cash counter and took Rs. 7.7 Lakh (£8,800).
According to Mr Matharu, the armed robbers stole all the money that was in the bank. He said that Rs. 70,000 (£800) had been deposited by customers while Rs. 7 Lakh (£8,000) had been present inside the bank.
After grabbing the money, the armed thieves threw the mobile phones on the floor and escaped in a white car that was waiting nearby.
The police were immediately informed and they arrived at the scene.
SSP Satinder Singh suspected that the crime was carried out by notorious Punjabi gangster Ravi Balachauria and his accomplices.
Due to his suspicions, he instructed his officers to show pictures of the criminal to people in the area. They identified Balachauria as one of the five suspects.
After taking statements from Mr Matharu and eyewitnesses, a police case was registered.
The four men who assisted Balachauria have yet to be identified.
SSP Singh explained that he has previously given instructions to improve the security, however, no attention has been paid.
He stated that security guards must be deployed at the bank in the event that a robbery happens again in the future.
Police officers have enlisted a technical team to assist with the investigation. But, the Digital Video Recorder (DVR) for the CCTV cameras were damaged and discarded by the thieves before they fled.
They continue to search for Balachauria and his four accomplices.
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