Pvt firm staffers robbed of cash
Two employees of an edible oil manufacturing company were allegedly robbed of approximately ₹8 lakh at gunpoint by two suspects outside a bank at the Raj Nagar District Centre (RDC) in Ghaziabad Monday morning, police said.
The company officials are yet to ascertain the exact amount that was looted.
This is the second robbery in roughly 24 hours under the Kavi Nagar police station and police post. A family of four was was held at gunpoint in their home and robbed of valuables worth ₹12 lakh early Sunday.
Monday’s incident took place around 11.30am when Nitin Sharma, 27, who looks after the accounts of the firm, came in a Santro car with another employee, 25-years-old Jodhpal Singh. The police said they parked their car outside the bank and that Sharma was heading to the premises when two masked men on a two-wheeler came by.
“I sensed something was amiss and headed towards the car, but the two men came close, pointed a pistol at me and fled with the bag,” Sharma told reporters, estimating that the amount looted could be about ₹8-10 lakh but that he does not have the correct figure. The suspects are stated to be aged around 20-25 years.
He added that one more employee of the firm was scheduled to join them to make the deposit. RDC is the biggest commercial market in Ghaziabad and houses a number of bank branches, ATM kiosks, restaurants, malls, pubs and showrooms, where the police take up round the clock patrolling.
Police said they have registered an FIR under IPC Section 392 (robbery) at Kavi Nagar police station and have also asked personnel to remain alert in RDC as well as other markets.
“The two victims are from an edible oil manufacturing firm near Loha Mandi and came to the RDC to deposit money in an account of another firm engaged in the same business. We have spoken to their company officials, but they are yet to give us the correct valuation of the cash taken away,” said Awneesh Kumar, circle officer (city 2).
This raises doubts as to whether the employees were aware or not how much money they had come to unload, as cash deposits require filling up of bank slips with the exact amount, down to the currency note denominations, police said.
“Though there is talk of ₹10 lakh being looted, the company’s officials did not give us in writing the exact amount lost during the incident,” the circle officer said.