A few hours later, however, some of the assailants returned in a bid to take their motorcycle, left in a hurry at the spot, and shot at three people, including two policemen, before being overpowered.

The police said four men in their mid-20s, identified as Iftiyak, Majid, Ahmed Sayeed and Kiranpal, came armed with pistols to the Central Bank branch in Krishna Market of Kalkaji area on a black Bajaj Pulsar and a Discover motorcycle around 1.30 pm.

The police said Iftiyak and Majid went inside the bank, while the other two waited outside. “Imtiaz went inside the manager’s chamber and asked bank manager P C Baruah to hand over all the cash.”

Baruah, who was at the police station, said: “He came quietly and took out the gun from his sock and put it to my head. There was a lot of commotion but M K Kapoor, an elderly customer, came and overpowered him.”

Kapoor (75), a resident of Kalkaji, grappled with Imtiaz and held on to him while other customers called the police and came to his help.

Imtiaz managed to free himself, while Majid had already escaped by then. The other two, who were waiting outside, ran away on foot sensing danger at the spot.

About three-and-a half hours later, Majid and Iftiyak returned to collect their bike parked outside the bank. They were, however, nabbed as the cops had laid a trap.

“We identified their bike and started roaming in the park just outside the bank in plainclothes. At about 4, two suspicious persons came and tried to take the bike away. The police party and some residents nabbed them immediately. Resisting apprehension, they fired and three persons, Head Constable Ashok Kumar, Constable Vikram and a tea kiosk owner, Raj Kumar, suffered injuries,” the police said. The police returned fire and overpowered the assailants.

Till late evening it was not clear how many rounds the police fired. The arrested men tipped-off the police about Ahmed Sayeed’s whereabouts and he was arrested from near the Kalkaji Mandir. The fourth person, Kiranpal, managed to escape.

The police said the men hail from Meerut in UP, and two motorbikes and three country-made pistols have been seized from them. During interrogation, the accused also confessed to committing major bank robberies in Hauz Khas and Malviya Nagar.