E-Paper
Five held for trying to rob grocery store
Gurugram Four days after five men allegedly tried to loot a general store on Basai Road, the crime branch of on Saturday arrested five persons and recovered a countrymade
Gurugram Four days after five men allegedly tried to loot a general store on Basai Road, the crime branch of on Saturday arrested five persons and recovered a countrymade pistol, two live bullets and a car used in the crime from them.
The group targeted the shop with a borrowed gun hoping to make a quick buck. The plan failed when the shopkeeper resisted the robbery attempt and raised the alarm. The fired one round, after which the gun got blocked. Unprepared for the situation, the group fled the spot.
Two of the five have a criminal history. Sagar alias Tota, the mastermind, was released from jail a month-and-half ago. All the accused are in their early 20s and are unemployed.
Preet Pal Sangwan, assistant commissioner of police (crime) said, “After his release, Tota gathered like-minded persons from his village. Tota borrowed a gun and four bullets from a contact in Uttar Pradesh, and planned to rob shops and people to make money.”
The robbery attempt was their first crime and the group was planning another crime as they had to make the payment for the gun.
On December 24, the group had attempted to loot Goyal Family store in Baldev Nagar near Basai Road around 8.30pm. Four of the five had entered the shop with their faces covered and asked for a cigarette pack. One of them pulled out the gun and asked the shopkeeper to hand over the cash. The shopkeeper confronted them with an iron rod and the shop staff raised the alarm.
The crime branch arrested the accused from Dhankot on Friday night. They were identified as Praveen alias Monnu (19) of New Colony, Gaurav alias Ambani (21), Shiva alias Shivender (20), Sagar alias Tota (20), and Anil alias Vikas (27), of Harsuru village.
“Gaurav and Sagar surveyed the area and found that the general store had high sales and they could get a large amount if they targeted the shop during closing hours,” said ACP.
Three cases are registered against Sagar in 2018 at Sector 10A and Shivaji Nagar police station. Last year, the police had recovered around seven weapons from Sagar and jailed him for firing at a friend. He was acquitted in the case as the victim turned hostile in the court. Gaurav was booked a few months ago by the Shivaji Nagar police for carrying illegal weapons.
