Mumbai: A Naval lieutenant who agreed to give a man a lift in his car was robbed of Rs 40,000 by the latter at gunpoint at Marine Lines on Saturday. The Azad Maidan police, who are on the lookout for the accused, have registered a case of robbery and are scanning footage from CCTV cameras installed in the area for leads.
According to the police, the robbery took place after a 27-year-old Navy lieutenant posted at the Naval base in Mumbai had gone to watch a movie at Metro Cinema on Saturday. The officer, who was dressed in civilian clothes at the time, parked his car near a petrol pump opposite the theatre before heading in to watch the movie.
Once the movie was over, the officer exited the auditorium and went to the washroom where he came across a man, who appeared to be around 30 years of age and was dressed in a white T-shirt and jeans. The stranger struck up a conversation with the officer and asked him whether he was in the Navy. The police suspect the accused had guessed the officer was in the Navy as he had spotted his car earlier.
When the officer replied in the affirmative, the accused told him that he too was interested in joining the Navy. Assuming that the man genuinely wanted to join the Navy, the officer started talking with him. After a brief conversation, the accused asked the officer where he was headed. On learning that the officer was headed to the Naval dockyard, the accused requested him to drop him there and sat in the officer’s car.
According to the police, a few minutes into the ride to the Naval dockyard from the movie theatre, the accused suddenly asked the officer to stop the car near SK Patil Garden on MK Road and allegedly snatched a gold chain from the officer’s neck. When the officer tried to shout, the accused whipped out a gun and pointed it at him. He then took the officer’s car keys, his ID card, ATM cards and driving licence.
In his statement to the police, the officer said the accused demanded Rs 50,000 to return his belongings, and threatened to kill him if he refused.
The officer then drove his car to a nearby ATM and handed over Rs 40,000 to the accused. While the accused returned the officer’s belongings to him, he kept arguing and demanding the remaining Rs.10,000. The officer then began shouting for help, prompting the accused to flee the spot, according to the complaint lodged with the police.
After securing permission from his superior officers, the lieutenant then approached the police and filed a complaint.
