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Alert bank manager foils robbery bid

Staff Correspondent

Accused overpowered after scuffle; staff member injured in melee

PANAJI: An alert branch manager and his staff at the Margao branch of the State Bank of Mysore in South Goa foiled an armed robbery bid on Thursday afternoon.

The incident took place at around 3 p.m. after the banking hours when the accused, who was wearing a fancy mask, entered the branch premises at Damodar Chambers with a .22 revolver and asked the cashier to part with cash.

The Superintendent of Police (Traffic) and the in-charge of South Goa district, A.V. Deshpande, told The Hindu that the branch manager, who was present at the cash counter, made the intruder believe that the cash was in the first floor.

Before that, the accused had fired at the cash counter, breaking the glass panes. When the accused took all the staff members to the first floor, they overpowered him before he fired another shot, which did not hurt anyone.

In the melee, the accused hit a staff member on his face with the revolver, Mr. Deshpande said.

The police arrived at the scene and took the accused into custody. He has been identified as Santiman Morais, a native of Cuncolim village in South Goa.

Mr. Deshpande said the attempt appeared to be an amateur act, according to preliminary investigation. Margao police are investigating the matter and have registered a case of attempt to robbery.

The branch manager, H.S. Sequeira, told The Hindu that some of his colleagues got hurt in the scuffle.

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