Mumbai: Parksite Police has arrested two men on Saturday, who attempted to rob a petrol pump in Vikhroli on Friday night. The arrested duo, Nihal Harpal Singh alias King, 22 and Abdul Rehman Shaikh, 22, were riding a motorcycle and had worn masks to avert identification.
Police said, “The duo came with an intention to rob the petrol pump, but were caught by the police after a brief chase. Interestingly, during investigation, it was revealed that Singh and Shaikh were the same duo who were involved in the Andheri petrol pump firing incident, which had occurred 10 days ago.”
Around Friday midnight, two bike-borne masked men arrived at Gulati petrol pump near Vikhroli and stood at the entrance of the premises. They then scanned the petrol pump for a couple of minutes before entering it.
Police said, the duo soon brandished a pistol and a sharp weapon to threaten the petrol pump employees. One of the employees smartly alerted the police helpline number and called for help.
A team from the Parksite police station were doing the night rounds on Friday, when at around 12.30 am they received a call informing them that two men were attempting to rob a petrol pump in Vikhroli.
They immediately rushed to the spot and foiled the duo’s robbery plan. After the police arrived, the duo tried to escape and sped on their motorcycle towards Powai, but were caught by the police after a brief chase.
Police recovered a toy gun, a sharp knife, debit/credit cards registered on other people names, a mobile phone and a self defence spray. Also, a pair of hand gloves, two scarves and a motorcycle (RJ-27-BN-3943) was seized from them.
During investigation, Singh and Shaikh confessed of orchestrating the robbery attempt and eventually firing at the Andheri petrol pump on December 4. The duo were booked under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code and Arms Act for robbery and possession of arms/weapons.
A police officer from Parksite police station said, Shaikh and Singh’s modus operandi was simple, of brandishing a gun or threatening people with a sharp weapon, only to rob them of cash and valuables. They had committed similar crimes in Thane and Mumbai suburbs.
The duo are history sheeters, who have cases registered against them at Thane, Parksite, Andheri, Shivaji Park and Agripada police stations for similar crimes.
