Ghaziabad: Armed robbers strike at pizza outlet, rob owner, diners

An FIR has been registered against unidentified robbers under the Indian Penal Code section 392 (robbery) at Loni Border police station

In a daring incident, two armed robbers on late Friday evening barged into a Pizza outlet in Ghaziabad’s Loni area and fled with about ₹30,000 cash from the cash counter and four-five customers who were dining at that time.

The purported CCTV footage shows one of robbers pointing a gun at the staff on the counter of the outlet and then threatening the customers. (HT Photo)

The incident occurred metres away from the Indirapuri police post.

It all happened around 7.30pm when two helmet-wearing suspects entered the outlet and took customers and staff at the counter at gunpoint. One of them began searching customers’ pockets and pulled out whatever could be found, while the other robber took out cash from the outlet’s cash counter.

“One of the robbers flaunted a gun. The other was also armed but he did not pull the weapon out. Both fled with cash without any discomfort, while the police post was just across the road. How can we work if this is the state of affairs?” said Prashant Kumar, the owner of the outlet, adding that the incident was captured on a CCTV camera installed in the outlet.

The purported CCTV footage shows one of robbers pointing a gun at the staff on the counter of the outlet and then threatening the customers. The footage shows customers being lined up on the one side and their pockets being searched for any valuables.

HT could not independently verify the authenticity of the CCTV footage.

According to Bhaskar Verma, the assistant commissioner of police (ACP), Ankur Vihar police circle, one of the police constables did try to give the two robbers a chase before they fled on a two-wheeler.

“It is estimated that about ₹30,000 in total were lost. We will also include the incident with customers, in the present case of robbery. We are waiting for complaints from customers. Our teams are trying to find the two suspects. They were wearing helmets and their faces were also covered with clothes,” the officer said.

A first information report (FIR) has been registered against unidentified robbers under the Indian Penal Code section 392 (robbery) at Loni Border police station, following a complaint filed by the outlet’ owner.