Juvenile among 4 held for bank robbery bid in Noida in which 2 guards were killed

Three people were arrested and a juvenile apprehended in connection with a sensational bank robbery attempt here in which two security guards were killed on September 21, the Gautam Buddh Nagar police said on Wednesday.

They accused held after a gun-battle with the police late Tuesday night in the city's Sector 19 area. Another accused in on the run and efforts are on to nab him, the police said.

Two private security guards of Punjab National Bank (PNB) were bludgeoned to death in an attempted robbery at its circle office in Sector 1 here on September 21.

Guards Mudrika Prasad and Mukesh Yadav were in the guard room of the bank when the accused attacked them on their head with a baton and an iron rod.

"Working on a tip-off, a police team from Sector 20 police station tracked down the suspects at a bus stop in Sector 19 around 10.30 pm. Alarmed by the police action, the suspects opened fire on the police team, prompting retaliation. Two of them were shot on the legs and all four held," Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Ajay Pal Sharma told reporters.

Those arrested have been identified as Aaqil Khan, 22, Aakash alias Munshi, 21, and Dinesh 24. A 15-year-old boy has been apprehended. Aaqil and Dinesh were injured in the police firing and were admitted to the district hospital, he said.

"Two country-made .315 bore pistols, six bullets and two knives were seized from them," he said, adding that further probe led to the recovery of a rod, a grub axe and the shirt of one of the guards killed.

"All the accused, living in slums adjoining Delhi, were drug addicts. Dinesh had recently lost Rs 2 lakh in betting after which he hatched the plan along with the trio to get a lot of money quickly," the SSP said.

Dinesh worked as a flower and garland seller in the area and would also sell them to the security guards who were killed.

"On Thursday evening also, Dinesh visited the bank office and sold a garland to the guards to gauge the situation.

"Later around 2 am Aaqil and Aakash went into the guard's room while they were asleep and hit them with the iron rod and the grub axe. They then tied the two guards with ropes, not realising that they had already died. The two then went around the office in search of money and even tried breaking into the strong room but could not succeed," the officer said.

"All this while, the other three, including the juvenile, remained outside the bank office," he added.

Aakash had worn a shirt of the guard while going around the office. He had picked up that shirt from the guard's room in an attempt to evade being identified.

"While coming out of the bank, they took a digital video recorder of a CCTV camera with them but their actions were also caught in another CCTV camera installed there," Sharma said.

Further probe was underway and search launched to nab their absconding partner, Sharma said, adding an appeal would be made in court for the police custody of the four.

A case has been registered against the four at Sector 20 police station under the relevant Indian Penal Code sections and under the Arms Act.

Meanwhile, based on the inputs gathered from the interrogation of the four accused, the police have identified around two dozen drug traffickers and anti-social elements living in slums and JJ clusters near Delhi border in Noida.

"We have identified these persons suspected of wrongdoing and will soon ensure action against them," the SSP said.