RAWALPINDI, May 16: Habib Bank branch at Dheri Hassanabad was looted on Wednesday by armed robbers who took away Rs2.7 million after injuring operational manager and a private security guard.

Operational Manager Mohammad Ramzan and security guard Hashmat Ali were shifted to Benazir Bhutto Hospital and later were allowed to go home after the first aid.

Hashmat Ali told Dawn that he was on duty when three young men entered the bank, snatched his gun and thrashed him with the pistol butts. He said that operational manager was also roughed up by the alleged dacoits. Later, the robbers began to ransack the bank branch, he said.

An eyewitness, Saddam Hussain, said that he was pulling up the shutter of his shop located in front of the bank branch when he heard the gunshots. At this, he walked towards the branch but he had to stop short of the branch because he saw that a robber was coming out brandishing his gun.

Mr. Saddam said: “After the robbers had disappeared from the scene, I entered the bank and saw the security guard and another staff member lying injured on the floor.”

He said: “Every body inside the bank was in panic; however they acted quickly and called the police.”As the police reached the scene, they started questioning the bank staff and asked for CCTV footage and a written statement.—Mohammad Asghar