In a tragic incident, two Indians were shot dead in Italy’s Covo, Bergamo province on Friday, April 17. The shooting took place around the time the duo was leaving a warehouse used as a place of worship during a gathering for the Vaisakhi festival, PTI reported, citing local media.
According to a report by La Sicilia daily, the shooting took place a few minutes before midnight in the square in front of Gurdwara Mata Sahib Kaur Ji in the industrial area of the city.
Authorities identified the deceased as Raginder Singh, a resident of Covo, and Gurmit Singh of Agnadell. Both victims were 48 years old and of Indian origin. According to the preliminary investigation, a sudden fight that turned into bloodshed is ruled out. The publication said the attacker allegedly approached the men, opened fire and then fled in a car.
While the authorities are investigating the hypothesis of a “coldly planned execution”, almost ten shell casings have been recovered from the crime scene. According to an eyewitness, the gunman was an “Indian” who also frequented the gurdwara. Describing the harrowing tragedy, he further told reporters that the bullets also hit a third person. The local institutions were preparing to participate in the official Vaisakhi celebration scheduled for Saturday when the incident took place.
Armed bank robbers hold 25 people hostage
The incident came a day after bank robbers were held hostage for two hours in Italy, AFP reported. The armed robbers, who were wearing masks, escape through the tunnel with the loot from the safes.
According to a source familiar with the matter, the robbers entered the branch of French bank Credit Agricole in Naples around 11:30 a.m. (09:30 GMT). The gunmen took customers and employees hostage, who were only rescued two hours later. In a statement, Naples prefect Michele di Bari said: “Thanks to the quick response… all the hostages were freed shortly after 1:30pm without serious injuries. According to local media footage from the scene, police broke windows to get inside the bank.”
But the police did not manage to catch the robbers, who had already escaped through the tunnel that led “to the sewers”.
“The thieves took the contents of dozens of safety deposit boxes,” a police source told AFP, adding: “Nobody but the clients know what was in those boxes” beyond the value of the stolen items.
About 40 police personnel and sniffer dogs were deployed in the search operation, while forensic police were at the scene looking for fingerprints.
