Pramesh S Jain
In a broad daylight robbery attempt,two armed men entered a jewellery shop posing as customers, threatened the owner at gunpoint,and shot him in the leg after he resisted their attempt.
The accused fled the spot without stealing any valuables.
The incident took place at Premashiva Jewellery Shop within the Dabaspet Police Station limits on Thursday afternoon.
Senior officer told reporters that five men arrived near the jewellery shop in a white pickup vehicle on Dabaspet Junction Road.
At around 2.10 pm,two of them entered the shop pretending to be customers and asked to see a pair of earrings.The owner asked them to wait for a few minutes as he was having his lunch.
The two men then allegedly pulled out a gun,threatened the owner,and attempted to rob the shop.When the owner resisted,they fired four rounds inside the shop.
One bullet struck the owner’s thigh,while the remaining three rounds failed to hit anyone armed men carrying pistols entered the shop and initially purchased silver earrings,paying Rs.800 in cash.
At the time,other customers were present,and the duo remained inside the shop as it was lightly raining outside.
After the customers left,the woman sales staff member, who was present at the shop,was asked by the owner, Kunnaram (55),to go for lunch while he began eating at the shop.
The duo conversed with Kunnaram in Hindi and claimed that they were from Rajasthan. As soon as the rain stopped and there were no other customers around,they allegedly pulled out their guns,jumped over the counter, and overpowered Punnaram.
The accused fired several rounds,one of which struck Punnaram in the thigh.He resisted their attempt and raised an alarm,following which the two men fled from the spot without completing the robbery.
An employee from a neighbouring shop,who worked as a mobile technician,rushed to help Punnaram.However, the accused threatened him with a gun before escaping.
Police recovered two live bullets from the scene.The entire incident was captured on CCTV cameras installed inside the shop,and further investigation is underway.
The owner raised an alarm and resisted the attackers, following which the accused fled the scene without taking any jewellery or valuables.The injured owner was shifted to a nearby hospital and is reported to be out of danger.
The Police have registered a case and launched an investigation.CCTV footage is being analyzed to identify the suspects, while efforts are underway to trace the vehicle used in the crime.
Two special teams have been formed to track down and apprehend the accused.
