Criminals gun down cash van guard, loot Rs 52 lakh in Samastipur

PATNA/SAMASTIPUR: Three motorcycle-borne criminals shot dead the guard of a van belonging to a private cash collection agency in Samastipur town on Thursday and looted Rs 52 lakh in cash from him.
Police said the incident occurred around 2pm when the guard, Bandhu Rai (40), was on way to the van after collecting the cash from the Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) office on Tajpur Road under the Town police station area in Samastipur.
The criminals also fired in the air to terrorise the people before fleeing the spot. The guard, who received two bullets, died on the spot.
Samastipur SP Deepak Ranjan said a special investigation team (SIT) had been constituted to probe the incident. “Efforts are on to arrest those involved in the crime. According to the LIC officials, the criminals looted Rs 52 lakh from the guard,” the SP said. He did not rule out the possibility of involvement of a criminal gang in the incident.
“The looted money was to be transported to an Axis Bank branch, which is around 1km away from the LIC office. The criminals intercepted the guard when he was about to reach the van, which was parked in front of the LIC office,” the SP said, adding all borders in the district had been sealed to arrest the criminals. “The CCTV footages are being scanned to identify the criminals,” he said.