Five held for robbery at cigarette godown

Greater Noida: A day after an office-cum-warehouse in Site IV was robbed of cigarette packets worth ₹25 lakh, police on late Thursday night arrested three persons, including a former employee of the warehouse, in the case after an encounter

Greater Noida: A day after an office-cum-warehouse in Site IV was robbed of cigarette packets worth ₹25 lakh, police on late Thursday night arrested three persons, including a former employee of the warehouse, in the case after an encounter. Police have also apprehended two minors from the Beta 2 area in connection with the robbery.

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According to police, three of the suspects received bullet injuries in the encounter while two minors were apprehended unhurt. Besides the stolen cigarette packets, three countrymade guns, three live cartridges, three used cartridges and one knife were recovered from the possession of the suspects, police said.

The suspects were identified as Kapil, 25, the former employee, Rohit Thakur, 23, and Rohit, 24, and two minors aged 16 and 17, all residents of Ghodi Bacheda village in Dadri.

Vishal Pandey, additional deputy commissioner of police, Greater Noida, said that the five suspects had barged into an office-cum-godown in Site IV area on the intervening night of Wednesday and Thursday and fled with 12 cartons of cigarettes worth ₹25 lakh. The criminals had also stabbed the 33-year-old security guard, Sunil Rai, for putting up resistance to the robbery.

Pandey said that Sector Beta 2 police formed a team and launched a search for the suspects. “On Thursday night, We received information that the five suspects were planning to dispose of the stolen items. The police team conducted a raid and the three suspects were arrested after encounter. They received bullet injuries. Two minor suspects were also apprehended unhurt from the mini truck,” he said.

The three injured suspects were sent to district hospital for medical treatment. Later, they were produced in court on Friday and sent to jail, while the two minors were sent to the juvenile home.

Police said that Kapil had worked at the same warehouse one year ago. Since he knew the details, he planned to conduct the robbery with his accomplices, they said.

The office-cum-warehouse is owned by Rakesh Jain, the distributor of a leading cigarette brand in Greater Noida. On Thursday he had said that the five suspects entered the premises after jumping the boundary wall and tied the security guard’s hands and legs with a rope, and fled with the goods.

A case was registered against five persons under Section 397 (robbery/dacoity with attempt to cause death or grievous hurt) and Section 342 (wrongful confinement).