Kashmir: Masked militants loot six lakh from SBI branch

Around six masked militants armed with assault rifles barged into a State Bank of India (SBI) branch at Qaimoh in south Kashmir’s Kulgam district, 72 km from Srinagar, on Wednesday and looted Rs six lakh.

The CCTV footage of the incident shows militants ordering the terrified officials and customers to remain silent.

The faces of the militants were masked and they held AK-47s in their hands.

A police official said that the militants fled from the scene immediately after looting the bank.

“During initial investigation, with the help of CCTV footage, it was found that Hizb-ul militants were involved in the crime. Efforts are on to nab the culprits,” he said and added that a case has been registered and investigation is underway.

The incident comes four days after two bank guards and a civilian suffered injuries when unidentified militants opened fire inside a branch of Jammu and Kashmir Bank during a robbery attempt in the same district.

According to official data while some bank-looting bids have failed, over a dozen banks have been looted in south Kashmir since demonetisation, November 8, 2016, and more than Rs one crore taken away in raids.

in May Last year, after surge in bank robberies, banks in Kashmir had stopped cash transactions at 40 branches in vulnerable areas of Pulwama and Shopian districts.

On May 1, 2017 militants attacked a cash van of the Jammu and Kashmir Bank, killing seven people, including five policemen and two guards, at Pumai village in Kulgam district.

There was no cash in the van as it had already been distributed to the branches, but the militants fled away with the service rifles of the slain policemen.