Private bank in Dambulla robbed

A daring bank robbery was staged in Dambulla yesterday morning by a masked man armed with a hand grenade; he made off with Rs. 797,000 cash after taking one of its employees hostage according to Police Spokesman ASP Ruwan Gunasekara. The ASP said the incident had occurred around 9.50 a.m. and the robber had removed the money from just one counter of the private bank in the Dambulla town. Then, the robber had got into a passing trishaw with the hostage after removing the mask he used during the robbery. The ASP said that the robber had released the hostage after proceeding in the trishaw for about four kilometres. The trishaw driver had been asked to take the bank officer back to the bank, before the robber boarded a bus plying to Anuradhapura. The trishaw driver told media yesterday that he did not know the man was a robber until the bank employee revealed to him while they were heading back to the bank. The driver said that he was given Rs. 1,000 by the thief to drop the bank officer.