Four killed as bank cash van with over ₹2 cr plunges into gorge in Kathua

Police said three of the occupants were killed on the spot while the fourth succumbed to his injuries on way to hospital

All four people on board a cash van of the Jammu and Kashmir Bank were killed after the vehicle plunged into a deep gorge near Bani in Kathua district late Monday, police said.

All four people on board a cash van of the Jammu and Kashmir Bank were killed after the vehicle plunged into a deep gorge near Bani in Kathua district late Monday. (Representative image/PTI)

“The van was on its way to Bani from Basohli with bank employees comprising two guards and a cashier cum clerk. It seems the driver failed to negotiate a curve at a place called Kro and the vehicle rolled down into a deep gorge,” Kathua district’s senior superintendent of police Shridhar Patil said.

Three of the occupants were killed on the spot while the fourth succumbed to his injuries on way to hospital, the officer said.

Patil said the cash was recovered from the site of accident by police and bank officials. It has been learnt that the cash van was carrying over ₹two crore for delivery to various bank branches in the area.

A bank official said that the entire cash was collected from the gorge and will be counted on Tuesday.

The dead have been identified as guards Yashpal of Chann Arorian, Harbans of Dayalachak, cashier Kewal Krishan of Patli Morh in Samba district and driver Vikram of Hiranagar.

Vikram, who was critically injured, was shifted to primary health center at Jandrali. His family then arranged to take him to a hospital in Punjab but he succumbed to his injuries at Basohli.