UP man tries to rob bank to buy gifts for girlfriend, held

In a bid to impress his Canadian "Instagram girlfriend" with lavish gifts, a 20-year-old man from UP's Barabanki made an abortive attempt to rob a bank on Diwali, but landed in jail five days later after cops tracked him down using CCTV footage.

Arrested on Monday, Shahid Khan narrated his motive for the burglary with surprising honesty.

He bought a phone in Feb and created an Instagram account and began posting his own pictures.

"One morning, his photo was liked by a profile from Canada. The two started communicating, and Shahid, a wall painter, became so involved that he decided to send her expensive gifts via Amazon. But he needed money. He devised a plan to rob a bank and flee to Mumbai," said ASP Chiranjeev Nath Sinha.