THATTA, Jan 23: Conflicting ground realities and official controversies regarding registration of an FIR about reported looting of Rs3.9 million from the UBL Thatta branch by unidentified people during widespread riots following the assassination of Benazir Bhutto has made the issue suspicious and talk of the town.

As per FIR No. 27/8, registered on January 6, 2008, at 4.45pm under section 395, 435 , 436, 427 , 337, HC2, 147, 148 , 149, PPC and 6/7, ATA, at the Thatta police station by complainant Zulfiqar Ali, the then acting manager of UBL Thatta branch, and his staff including IInd Officer Khalid Iqbal Memon, two cashiers, Mohammed Aslam and Taj Mohammad

Panhwar and guard Munir Ahmed Subhyo, the bank staff was busy in routine work when at 7.45pm some 600 unidentified enraged people equipped with arms, iron bars and lathis stormed the branch and started aerial firing.

According to the report, the cashiers and other members of the staff threw in haste the cash amounting Rs3,908,500 and relevant vouchers in the inner safe and locked the overlapping strong room iron door and ran to their houses.

The complainant mentioned in the report that when they returned to the branch on Dec 29, they found Rs3,902,943 were missing from the safe.

The complainant said that the furniture and other equipment in the branch had been reduced to ashes.

Confronting the content of the FIR, Thatta SHO Syed Irfan Shah in a written statement, a copy of which has been obtained by this correspondent, mentioned that when he was approached by the acting manager, he visited the branch and found comparatively minimum losses of damage to the branch. On Inquiry, the statement said, the manager and other staff members confirmed that strong room was intact and no damage was rendered to it.

The SHO told journalists that one of the media photographers during his visit of the branch took snaps of the locked strong room door.

The SHO said he apprised his findings to the then DSP headquarters cum in-charge DPO Thatta Syed Zulfiqar Shah and insisted to register an FIR. But, he added, the charge had been handed over to CIA Inspector Ghulam Sarwar Vistro who registered the FIR on Jan 6.

According to a banker, the normal cash closing time in commercial banks is 5.30pm, however, occasionally due to hardships including piling up of cash, registration of nominations and mistakes in balance of cash compel the staff to keep the cash out of strong room for more time.