A Senior Bank official while talking said that five masked men barged into a branch of the J&K Bank in the Chandpora area and decamped with the cash and an 12 Bore rifle from the bank guard.

“The incident took place around 3.10 p.m. There was a loud bang as they barged inside the bank and shot few shots on the wall of bank. The robbers went to the manager’s cabin and asked for the cash,” officials said.

Official sources said the masked men were carrying guns. “They also snatched the phones of the staff to stop them from making any calls,” they added.

Sources said there was no CCTV camera installed in the bank. “Moreover, the bank had a security guard at the time of the robbery,” officials said.

Meanwhile, this is the third such incident within last 20 days in the Kashmir valley.  It is pertinent to mention that unknown persons looted over 2 lakh rupees from a branch of the Grameen Bank in north Kashmir’s Baramulla on March 12 and also 2.42 lakh rupees from Grameen Bank at Mujgund, outskirts of Srinagar city.