Robbers snatch Rs.10 lakh from petrol pump employees

GHAZIABAD - Four motorcycle-borne robbers looted Rs.10 lakh from two petrol pump employees who were on their way to deposit the cash at a bank in Garh Mukteswar in Ghaziabad district Monday, police said. Angry traders later blocked the Lucknow-Delhi highway to protest rising crime in the area.

According to police, the cashier of Musaddi Lal Petrol Pump and his assistant were on their way to the Syndicate Bank when the four robbers intercepted them and tried to snatch the bag containing the cash. When the two employees resisted, the robbers hit them with pistol butts and succeeded in fleeing away with the cash towards Meerut.

The local traders blocked the vehicular movement on national highway 24 to protest the rising crime in the area. The agitation, which led to a long queue of stranded vehicles in both directions, was only called off when Superintendent of Police (Rural) M.M. Baig assured the traders to solve the case at the earliest. The petrol pumps also closed their business in the city after the incident.

The petrol pump owners association asked the police to provide security to their staff, noting Monday is the day their personnel are targeted by robbers as they are carrying huge amounts of cash on account of banks being closed Sunday. “Most of the incidents occur on Monday,” association member Rakesh Bansal said.