More than Rs8 million looted in Karachi bank robbery

KARACHI: Amid rampant crime rates in the city, the metropolis witnessed another major bank robbery after armed robbers got away with looting more than Rs8 million from a private bank in Karachi on Wednesday

SIU Senior Superintendent Of Police(SSP) Junaid Shaikh — refuting initial reports of four gunmen — confirmed that six robbers, who came on three motorcycles, got away with Rs8.7 million rupees as the security guard didn't put up much resistance.

"There's a CCTV camera outside the bank [...] We are trying to retrieve the CCTV footage to ascertain the route taken by fleeing robbers," Shaikh added.

The robbers also assaulted the bank's security guard and managed to flee with the security guard's weapon with impunity.

"If needed, the bank employees will also be made part of the investigation," the police officer said while apprising that the weapon snatched from the security guard was disposed of by the robbers near the bank.

Meanwhile, a heavy contingent of police arrived at the scene with Sindh Caretaker Interior Minister Brig (retd) Haris Nawaz reprimanding the authorities over the lack of police patrolling in the area.

The minister has directed the Additional IG to submit a report on the incident along with the details pertaining to the resistance put up by the bank's security guard.

The metropolitan city has witnessed a significant surge in crime with the number of people killed by robbers in the city this year rising to 104 in the first nine months of 2023, The News reported earlier this month.

Some 60,000 street crime incidents have been reported in the city this year, according to the Citizens-Police Liaison Committee (CPLC), whose figures show that 59,511 such incidents have occurred between January and August 2023.