2020 was a year full of horrific incidents, be it the pandemic or the number of crimes witnessed. With the arrival of the vaccine for the COVID-19, only one of the problems is likely to go away. In devastating news from Jammu, an ATM security guard was brutally murdered for trying to stop a robbery.
The incident took place on Thursday night by two men from north Kashmir. According to the police, the guard tried to stop the robbers from breaking into the ATM to steal the cash in the machine but was attacked inside the guard room. The security guard was identified as Raju Sharma of the New Plot area in Jammu.
Jammu police arrested two suspects in the case in a matter of few hours after the FIR was registered, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), Jammu, Sridhar Patil said. The accused have been identified as Mohammad Kaif Lone and Waqas Bashir Lone of Bandipore in north Kashmir, who had rented out a place in Nanak Nagar for the purpose of the robbery.
The police are also investigating if the robbery is linked to financial terrorism in J&K.
Raju Sharma – the sole breadwinner in the family
The brutal murder of Sharma has left his dependent family without any source of income. The ATM guard is survived by his bedridden parents, wife, two children and 7 sisters. With the news of Sharma's murder, his family and neighbors staged a protest demanding justice. Protestors even blocked the New Plot Road, demanding for a speedy and fair trial.
The family of the deceased has also sought the government's financial help and a job in the bank for one of the family members.
According to a PTI report, a compensation of Rs 20 lakh to the family is to be announced by the DGM, J&K Bank, Rs 1 lakh by the security agency that employed Sharma and Rs 50,000 by the district development commissioner.
