Mumbai:
Three robbers armed with revolvers looted Rs. 20 lakh from a branch of Saraswat Bank in the Mumbai suburb of Kandivli- soon after it opened Monday morning, police said.
"Three masked men, with revolvers, slapped the guard and forced their way into the bank," said Investigation Officer Dashrath Rathod.
According to bank chairman Eknath Thakur, the robbers also slapped a few customers and other bank employees and threatened to shoot if any resistance was shown.
Thakur also said he believed the robbery was a planned one. "The robbers knew exactly where the safe was. They forced the cashier to open it and hand over the cash. They threatened to kill the cashier when he handed over currency notes of Rs. 10 denomination. They asked for currency notes of Rs. 100 and Rs. 500 only."
Police, however, said that the matter needs further investigation.
"The robbers seemed to have come on a black Pulsar motorcycle. After they gathered the booty, they escaped on the same motorcycle. The entire episode lasted only 15 minutes according to the bank staff," Rathod said, adding a case has been registered and investigations are on
Thakur said the branch was to get CCTV cameras installed in a few days.
"We had ordered for CCTV cameras to be installed at key spots of the branch, but the robbers beat us to it," he said.