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Pulwama: J-K bank looted, attackers take off with Rs 13.38 lakh
Unidentified gunmen targeted a branch of the state-run Jammu and Kashmir Bank at Arihal in south Kashmir’s Pulwama on Thursday and looted Rs 13.38 lakh. The attackers reportedly fired shots while leaving the branch.
Unidentified gunmen targeted a branch of the state-run Jammu and Kashmir Bank at Arihal in south Kashmir’s Pulwama on Thursday and looted Rs 13.38 lakh. The attackers reportedly fired shots while leaving the branch.
According to sources, the gunmen looted around Rs 11.15 lakh in new notes while Rs 2.23 lakh in old notes. “Around 1.30 pm, four gunmen beat up the employees, broke some computers, took away mobile phones and also fired in air. They looted all the cash available at the bank which was around Rs 13.38 lakh as reported by the authorities,’’ said Rayees Ahmad Bhat, Superintendent of Police, Pulwama.
Police has started the search operation. “We have some leads we are working on them,’’ Bhat said.
On the same day, there was an attempted robbery at the J&K Bank at Poshkar.
This is not the first instance of a bank robbery in the state after the announcement of demonestisation of old notes. Last month, unidentified burglars robbed nearly Rs 35 lakh from a J&K Bank in Kishtwar district.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had, in a surprise announcement on November 8, scrapped high denomination banknotes, saying that one of the key targets of the drive was to stop militants from using counterfeit Indian currency from Pakistan.
