Jeweller shot dead by robbers in Moga, gold ornaments looted

Jewellery shop owner Parminder Singh was shot dead and his store looted in Punjab's Moga district. Five unidentified men entered the shop, three of whom were armed with pistols, and two with sharp-edged weapons. They pretended to be customers before pulling out guns and demanding the jewellery. Singh was shot in the stomach and died upon arrival at hospital. The robbers are yet to be identified.

Five unidentified accused shot dead a jewellery shop owner and looted at gun-point gold ornaments from a store in Punjab’s Moga district on Monday afternoon, police said, adding that cops are yet to confirm the value of the stolen ornaments.

The police outside the shop in Moga on Monday. (HT photo)

42-year-old Parminder Singh, also known as Vicky, was shot in the stomach and was rushed to the civil hospital in Moga, from where he was referred to Ludhiana’s Dayanand Medical College and Hospital – almost an hour away, where doctors declared him brought dead, police said.

As per police, five men – three armed with pistols and two with sharp-edged weapons – entered the shop around 2pm on pretext of purchasing jewellery. A salesperson present at the shop during the loot said in her statement to the police said: “The five men said they wanted to buy ornaments and began looking. After a while, when a number of jewellery boxes were placed on the counter, they pulled out guns... asking us to hand over the jewellery to them. The owner tried to alarm people by shouting, when they opened fire, and shot the owner in the stomach... he collapsed, and they made away with the gold ornaments.”

Moga senior superintendent of police, J Elanchezian said, the robbery was recorded on the CCTV camera installed in the shop and cops have retrieved photos of the accused. “Five people were involved in the robbery. Two bullets were fired by the accused, one of which hit the shop owner, who died during treatment... efforts are on to nab the accused,” Elanchezian added.

The owner of the neighbouring shop took Singh to the civil hospital and informed the cops, police said.

Further investigation is underway, police said.