(MENAFN- Arab News) LONDON: When a cashier at the Bank of the West in California received a note from an unarmed bank robber saying 'Tick Tock. I have a bomb' he saw nothing unusual in that. But he got shock of his life when the robber later turned out to be a 25-year old Sikh nurse.
Meet Sandeep Kaur who did not need a machine gun on July 6 2014 to carry out her mission. Her disarming smile not a ski mask did the job.
Kaur was convicted of robbing four banks in the US and was sentenced to 66 months in April reported the BBC.
Called the Bombshell Bandit due to her glamorous disguises and bomb threats she captured the attention of people who wondered what made a nurse become a bank robber.
Kaur revealed from jail to BBC her extraordinary story.
She moved to California from Punjab when she was 7 and by 19 she was a licensed nurse earning up to $6000 a month. But things went wrong when Kaur discovered Las Vegas at 21 and became a gambler.
Soon she quit her profession and began nursing her gambling addiction. 'I stopped working. I can't focus and be going to work for this little amount of money' Kaur told the BBC. But by March 2012 she had lost her life savings and was in debt. She then borrowed money at a steep interest attempting to recover what she had lost.
'I ate at that table. I only took bathroom breaks I was sitting at the table for 16 hours ... hoping it'll all change. Then it all just went down the drain' she explained.
She had to flee Las Vegas and managed to evade the loan sharks till they caught up with her in May 2014.
Desperate she resorted to their suggestion of bank robbery and without a weapon or backup plan managed to escape with $21200 in her first attempt. Since that wasn't enough she had little choice but to rob more banks.
However her run ended on July 31 2014 when the manager of the US Bank alerted the authorities. A police pursuit lasted 65 miles crossed three states two time zones and reached speeds of 130mph resulting in her capture.
Kaur is behind bars but her daring robberies and catch-me-if-you-can attitude might soon give Hollywood a new plot for a blockbuster.