Staring at financial crisis after losing his job during the Covid-19 lockdown, a Mohali man robbed ₹8.65 lakh at gunpoint from an unguarded cooperative bank in Sector 61 on Monday, police said on Thursday.
The accused, Harjot Singh, 34, a resident of Phase-3A, Mohali, has been arrested and ₹8.48 lakh, part of the booty, have been recovered from him.
A B-Pharmacy graduate, Harjot used an air pistol – a toy gun used to practice marksmanship with metal pellets – to execute the robbery after taking cues from movies, said Kuldeep Singh Chahal, senior superintendent of police (SSP), Chandigarh.
“He had a marketing job. But, lost it during the lockdown, making survival difficult for his family of four, comprising his wife and two children,” he added.
As he is addicted to cough syrup, he singlehandedly planned and executed the robbery to fund his addiction and fulfil his desires, the police official said.
Gone in two minutes
Covering his face with a handkerchief, Harjot entered the branch around noon on February 8, pretending to be a customer seeking information about his bank account.
{{/usCountry}}Covering his face with a handkerchief, Harjot entered the branch around noon on February 8, pretending to be a customer seeking information about his bank account.
{{/usCountry}}He shoved the four employees present on the premises and then pulled out his air pistol, pointing it at peon Amarjit Singh, who was sitting at the cash counter. He told him to hand over the cash bag, while threatening to shoot all of them and walked out with ₹8.65 lakh within two minutes.
Human intelligence helped crack case
In the wake of non-functional CCTV cameras at the bank, police were initially left at a loss. “But, human intelligence network helped us nab the accused,” said Shruti Arora, assistant superintendent of police (ASP, South).
The bank’s CCTV cameras were not operational since February 4. Questioning the bank employees helped the police gauge that the robber was familiar with the area.
Relying on human intelligence by means of interpersonal contact with sources, police zeroed in on Harjot, who was a regular visitor to the Sector-61 market and well-aware of the area.
Thereon, police scanned CCTV footage from cameras installed at various crossroads near the market and spotted Harjot parking his car at a distance and walking to the bank at the same time when the robbery was executed.
With his arrest, police also seized the air pistol and his white Maruti Suzuki Swift, bearing a Mohali registration number.
Knew about bank’s poor security
Harjot was produced before a court on Thursday and remanded to two-day police custody. During his interrogation, he revealed that he targeted the bank as he was aware that it did not have a security guard.
He had so far spent ₹17,000 of the booty on drugs as well as partying with friends.
The father of two is facing a case under Section 392 (robbery) of the Indian Penal Code and the Arms Act, registered on the complaint of branch manager Anuradha Awasty. If proven, the charge entails rigorous imprisonment for up to 10 years.