A brazen attempt by a gang to rob a jewellery store in Rajajinagar was aborted after the security guard opened fire at them on Monday evening. As the gang was armed with machetes, one of the guards sustained injuries.
Incidentally, the same jewellery store, a franchise of Chemmanur Jewellers, was robbed by two armed men in September 2012. A security guard was injured and the store had claimed loss of jewellery worth crores. While the case remained unsolved, the robbery had triggered a series of reforms, which led to a metal gate as an additional layer of security and an armed security guard.
When the gang arrived on Monday, it is probably these measures that prevented the theft from happening.
For store manager Shaji Thomas, it was all deja vu as he was present during both the robbery bids. “Nanjappa, our security guard, was sitting outside the store. The second guard, Vijay Kumar, who was armed had gone to the restroom. Suddenly, we saw three to four men wearing helmets attacking Nanjappa with machetes. As we screamed for help, Vijay Kumar came out and fired twice with his revolver. The robbers then escaped,” he said.
Chethan Singh Rathor, Deputy Commissioner of Police (North), said it was not clear whether any of the robbers were injured. “They were wearing helmets. They might have parked their bikes nearby. We will analyse the CCTV footage in the area,” he said. Nanjappa, 55, has suffered injuries on his hand and face but is out of danger, he said.
