Four Bank Robbers Lynched in Buxar; Guard Shot Dead
Buxar: May 9, 2008
Four bank robbers who were trying to flee after killing a security guard during an armed robbery at the State Bank of India branch in Buxar district on Friday were ambushed by angry villagers and lynched in a display of swift justice that has earned accolades from even senior police officials in the area.
The incident occurred at Chausa village when seven youths on motorcycles arrived at the SBI branch at around 1:30 pm. While three men stayed outside on the getaway vehicles, four men entered the bank and shot dead the guard who was identified as Nand Kumar Singh.
The criminals then took all the employees and customers hostage and after locking them in the strong room, emptied the cash registers and escaped with Rs. 4.4 lakh.
Meanwhile, hearing the gunshots, a large number of villagers gathered outside the bank and gave chase to the criminals on two motorcycles. After catching up with them, the villagers beat them mercilessly killing two of them on the spot.
Four others who abandoned their motorcycle and ran towards the field were also caught up by the angry villagers and beaten up before the police arrived and took the criminals in its custody. Two other robbers succumbed to their injuries while the other two were taken to a hospital in Buxar under heavy police protection.
One criminal, however, managed to escape, Buxar Superintendent of Police (SP) Amit Jain said.
Three of the dead robbers were identified while attempts are being made to establish the identification of other criminals, the police said.
The police were able to recover some of the money but a large portion of the booty was perhaps taken away by the villagers, they said.
Off the record, several police officials praised the villagers for delivering swift justice to the robbers saying the incident should deter other criminals in the area from committing such crimes in future.
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