Bhulehswar: An armed robbery in a store run by a senior citizen in Bhuleshwar spurred the VP Road police into action, leading to the arrest of both the robbers within 24 hours.
One of them was a former employee of the owner till a couple of years back. The police were also not amused when they recovered the ‘firearm’, which turned out to be a cigarette lighter shaped like a pistol. The police said the owner, Kirit Shah, 60, who has been seriously injured in the incident, was alone in the shop when the two accused entered.
An officer said they were wearing raincoats, with hoods covering almost their entire faces. They attacked Shah, held him at ‘gunpoint’ and robbed him of his iPhone, wristwatch and cash, collectively worth Rs 54,000, he said.
One of the two accused had the gun-shaped lighter, which Shah thought to be an actual firearm. The senior victim was hit with it several times before the men fled the scene.
Shah subsequently informed the police and a case was registered against unidentified persons. “We tried viewing CCTV footage but as their faces were covered, it did not help much. However, Shah told us that the voice of one of the two accused was familiar. He added that it sounded like one Karim Sheikh, 23, who used to work for him,” said Deputy Commissioner of Police Neelotpal, Zone II.
Working on this information, the police visited Karim’s last known address in Dongri, and learned that he had moved to Virar. The team then sped to Virar, where they tracked him down and arrested him early on Friday morning. “Karim, in his questioning, revealed the identity and whereabouts of his accomplice.
Accordingly, the second accused, Noor Mohammed Sheikh, 25, was also arrested from Sewree,” Neelotpal said. The duo has been charged with assault, robbery, and house trespass under the Indian Penal Code, the police said.
