Karachi witnesses a rise in robberies days ahead of Ramadan

• Karachi witnessing a rise in robberies days ahead of Ramadan.
• Dacoits escape with over 30 safe deposit lockers' worth of valuables during a looting incident at a private bank.
• Armed robbers flee with Rs200,000 worth of cash from the outlet of an international doughnut chain near Bait-ul-Mukarram Mosque in Karachi.

KARACHI: Pakistan's financial capital has started witnessing a rise in robberies days ahead of Ramadan as dacoits on Sunday made away with valuables stored in safe deposit lockers of a private bank, as well robbed a doughnut shop of cash, in two separate incidents.

Robbers were able to clean out 31 lockers of a private bank near Sakhi Hassan Chowrangi. Owners rushed to the financial establishment upon hearing news of the robbery and criticised the authorities' alleged negligence.

The senior superintendent of police (SSP) for Karachi's Specialised Investigation Unit (SIU), retired Capt Haider Raza told Geo News that during the robbery, the security alarm went off and the dacoits came face-to-face with the guards as well.

According to the SSP, shortly before the robbery took place, the private bank's guard had gone for dinner. However, as soon as he returned, the dacoits entered the bank alongside him.

The police said the suspects had broken into 34 of the bank's 260 lockers but escaped with valuables from 31 of them since the remaining three were empty.

Details of the lockers were collected while an operation to search for and nab the suspects also began.

Separately, four armed robbers fled with Rs200,000 in cash from the outlet of an international doughnut chain near the Bait-ul-Mukarram Mosque in Karachi's Gulshan-e-Iqbal area.

The bank robbery marks the second such incident this year after armed robbers had last month looted more than Rs1 million from a bank in the New Karachi neighbourhood.

Read more: Robbers steal almost 100 bridal dresses worth millions from boutique in Karachi's DHA

Surveillance video obtained by Geo News had shown the armed robbers firing shots as they fled the private bank. The footage showed two men running towards their motorcycles, with one carrying what appeared to be a Kalashnikov rifle and the other a pistol.

Authorities had said at the time an encounter took place between the robbers and police but the suspects managed to flee, with the man carrying the pistol firing two shots into the air, probably to scare onlookers.

The four robbers had injured two security guards of the bank by hitting them with the butts of their guns. Police had said the assailants made away with Rs1,035,000.