Kozhikode
A man in mask robbed a fuel station at Kottuli in Kozhikode city on Wednesday night after overpowering a security guard who was busy counting the late-night collection. The fuel station owner lost ₹50,000.
As the area was under CCTV surveillance, the police on Thursday recovered some crucial visuals that brought to light the gravity of the midnight robbery. Rafeeque, who sustained injuries in the incident, was admitted to the Kozhikode Medical College Hospital.
The Medical College police said the burglar had tied the hands of the petrol station staffer to foil his attempts to resist. As there were no witnesses, details of the assault came out only after an hour of his escape from the spot, they added.
Though the attacker reportedly used a few Hindi words during the assault, police sources said they were yet to confirm the involvement of migrant workers in the incident. They said efforts were on to gather CCTV visuals from more locations to identify the man.
In an almost similar incident at Kalanthode near Mukkom in 2018, a fuel station owner had lost ₹1 lakh. According to the police, the theft was operated by keeping a staffer at gunpoint. The last such incident in the district was in 2020 when two youths escaped with a cash bag of ₹32,000 after attacking a petrol pump staffer at Nadakkavu. The police had arrested all suspects in both the cases.
