Bank guard shot dead while resisting robbery in Delhi

NEW DELHI - A bank guard was shot dead Monday by two armed men when he tried to foil a robbery and save the life of one of the bank’s customers, police said. The robbers fled with Rs.1.8 million cash belonging to a petrol pump owner.

The assailants shot dead Rajender Negi, security guard of the Bank of India’s Patparganj branch, before fleeing with Rs.1.8 million cash in Mandawali area of east Delhi around 8 a.m. Monday, police said.

According to police, Vijay Prakash Gupta, owner of a petrol pump, came to the bank in his car in the morning to deposit the money. He was carrying the cash in a bag.

‘As Gupta stepped out of his car, two men holding country-made pistols tried to snatch the bag from him. Gupta resisted their attempt after which the robbers threatened him with dire consequences. In the meantime, the security guard deployed at the bank came out and tried to overpower the assailants,’ said Deputy Commissioner of Police (east Delhi) Anand Mohan.

‘Negi managed to get hold of one of the assailants. But during the scuffle, one of the assailants shot Negi in his chest. He fell on the ground and the accused, wasting no time, fled the spot with the bag containing the cash,’ he added.

Rajender Negi was rushed to the Max Hospital where doctors pronounced him dead. His body has been sent the Lal Bahadur Shastri (LBS) Hospital for post mortem examination.

Rajender Negi had retired from the 9th battalion of the Garhwal Regiment in 1997 and joined the bank in 2002 as a security guard.

Police said it seemed the robbers were aware of Gupta’s routine of going to the bank every morning to deposit the sale collections of the petrol pump.

‘On an average day, Gupta used to deposit around Rs.900,000. But Sunday being a holiday for banks, Gupta had come with two days’ collection, which was Rs.1.8 million,’ Mohan said.

The police said they were hopeful of cracking the case soon as the assailants had been captured on the closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras installed by the IndusInd Media & Communication Company outside their office, adjacent to the bank. However, the CCTV of the bank could not capture the robbery.

Meanwhile the family members of Rajender Negi alleged that he lost his life due to the negligence of Delhi Police and the bank authorities.

‘Rajender was working with the bank since 2002, but he was not given a gun to handle such situations. The Delhi Police should have done the work, which Rajender did without even thinking about his life,’ Rajender Negi’s brother Ranbir Singh Negi said.