Three bike-borne youngsters robbed two Mumbai-based jewellers of gold ornaments weighing five kg after attacking one of them with knives at Gunfoundry in Abids on Tuesday night.
Siblings, Rakesh and Sonu, stepped out of Bajranglal gems and jewellery shop beside Lepakshi building around 8.30 p.m. when the robbers came from behind. One of them lunged at Rakesh inflicting bleeding wounds on him, while another snatched the bag containing the jewellery from his hand.
“Sonu almost fainted on seeing his brother being attacked. The robbers sped away before the shop workers and others could react and chase the bike,” an eyewitness, Amjad Khan, who was passing by, told the police. Police Commissioner A.K. Khan and other city police officers visited the spot.
Tough action
Taking a serious note of the offence -- second robbery within a fortnight in the area -- Commissioner A.K. Khan suspended the Abids Inspector, K. Shiva Kumar, and issued charge memo to Abids ACP, P.V.G. Vijay Kumar, for alleged negligence in the discharge of duties. The jewellers arrived in the city by Hussainsagar Express in the morning.
They were going from one shop to the other in different parts of the State capital, including the old city, to sell the gold ornaments they had brought along with them. The brothers travelled in an autorickshaw. Police suspect the robbers somehow came to know that the merchants were carrying a lot of jewellery or someone tipped them off.
The shop at Abids had several cameras but none of them was working. Eyewitnesses and passersby, however, managed to note down number of the robbers' bike. “An alphabet is missing from the number they had noted. Hence, we're trying to trace the vehicle with different combinations,” Mr. Khan said.
Video footage
Investigators are hoping to identify the robbers by analysing video footage recorded by surveillance cameras installed at different junctions in the city, since they suspect the accused had followed the three-wheeler in which the jewellers travelled.
The Commissioner ordered checking of vehicles, railway stations, bus stands and lodges. He directed the police to be on duty till midnight to assist in tracing the bike.
The case was transferred to the Central Crime Station. Earlier on May 20, robbers struck during daytime right in front of Abids police station, taking away a bag containing gold jewellery weighing two kg from a jeweller riding a bike.
