KARACHI: A private security guard posted at a bank branch in the Defence Housing Authority with at least two accomplices broke open lockers apparently in the middle of the night, collected cash and other valuables worth more than Rs6 million and escaped early on Tuesday morning, officials said.

They said the bank guard deputed at the branch for last over six months executed the job with his two or more accomplices in the middle of the night when he first allowed them entry and then helped them break open the lockers of the branch located at B Market, Phase I, in DHA.

“The security guard has been identified as Manzur Mastung,” said SSP for investigations Tariq Dharejo. “We are not sure about the number of his aides, but there would have been at least two who helped him. The branch is set up on the ground and mezzanine floors of a building. Initial findings suggest that they first broke open the lockers at the ground floor of the bank to collect Rs6.5m, including foreign currency, and then moved to the mezzanine floor, where the lockers contained valuables, including jewellery and documents.”

The police findings suggested that the security guard planned the job well and had all key information of the branch. To break open the lockers, the officials said the robbers used gas cutters and managed to break 22 of them.

‘TTP commander held, major terror activity foiled’

“We have collected the initial information about the security guard, who originally hailed from Rahim Yar Khan,” said SSP Dharejo. “The security guard was deputed only for night-shift duties and replaced by his colleagues in the morning. However, he was well aware of the security system of the branch and before executing the job, he disconnected the CCTV [closed-circuit television] cameras installed in and outside the branch for surveillance.”

Meanwhile, Sindh IG Dr Syed Kaleem Imam, taking notice of the incident, issued directives for an immediate inquiry and recovery of the looted money and valuables with the arrest of the suspects.

‘TTP commander’ held

A ‘commander’ of the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan was arrested by the Counter-Terrorism Department, who was planning a “major terror activity” in the city, said a senior police official on Tuesday.

DIG Abdullah Shaikh told a press conference at his office that the arrested commander was identified as Rehman, alias Ustad Jee, after a raid on one of his Karachi hideouts. The suspected militant, trained in Afghanistan, he said, was associated with the TTP Swat’s Fazlullah group.

“He was appointed commander after the killing of commander Sher Bahadur,” he said. “His name is also placed [in] the Red Book of Sindh. He took a house on rent in Frontier Colony, where he was planning a major terror activity. We have also recovered explosive material and gadgets used in making a bomb while a remote control, a hand grenade and a pistol were also seized from him.”

Fugitive arrested

Meanwhile, the Pakistan Rangers, Sindh, claimed to have arrested an undertrial suspect who had escaped from the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC) earlier this month. A spokesman for the paramilitary force said that the wanted suspect, with two accomplices, was arrested after a raid in a Korangi area.

He said that key suspect Javed Akhtar was arrested with his two accomplices Irfan Pathan and Abdul Sattar.

Javed Akhtar was admitted to the JPMC under police custody, where he fled after snatching a police weapon with the help of his wife. The Rangers also seized a .9mm pistol, a 30-bore pistol, a snatched SMG, three hand grenades, different types of rounds, six mobile phones, 11 SIM cards, seven memory cards, four USBs and a car from their possession.

Published in Dawn, January 30th, 2019