Five armed men loot ₹17K from PNB’s Chogawan Village branch in Amritsar district

A a bank staff member said around four persons, all wielding pistols, entered the bank and looted ₹17,000 cash. He said the bank has no security guard.

Close to the heels of armed men looting ₹22lakh from a bank branch, five unidentified armed men decamped with ₹17,000 cash from Punjab National Bank (PNB)’s Chogawan village branch, 22km from the district headquarters in broad daylight on Monday, officials said.

The accused have been caught in closed circuit television (CCTV) cameras installed in the area. (Videograb)

The incident took place at around 12:30 pm. According to the staff members, the branch was not fully functional on Monday as it had caught fire a few days ago.

“Due to a fire incident a few days ago, the bank was not fully functional due to ongoing repair work. The cash locker had also not been opened yet. A woman staff worker was dealing with only small payments, including the disbursal of old age pensions. On Monday, ₹25,000 were deposited, and ₹8,000 payments were made,” said a bank staff member.

He said around four persons, all wielding pistols, entered the bank and looted ₹17,000 cash. He said the bank has no security guard.

Police sources said the accused came on two Hero Honda Splendour motorcycles.

Four of the accused entered the bank branch, with the fifth keeping a watch outside. The accused have been caught in closed circuit television (CCTV) cameras installed in the area. However, they had covered their faces, officials added.

Senior superintendent of police (SSP-rural) Satinder Singh said they have registered a case of robbery against five unidentified persons. “Our teams are working to trace the identity of the accused. We have got some clues, and the accused will be arrested any time soon,” he added.