Panchkula trader downing shutter robbed at gunpoint

Two men, wearing helmets, brandish pistols, flee with shopkeeper’s bag containing ₹2.5 lakh, $500, his mobile phone and car keys

Two men robbed a shopkeeper of ₹2.5 lakh and $500 at gunpoint behind his shop in the Sector 16 market on Saturday night.

Hemant Bansal was walking out of the back side of his retail and wholesale shop, Madras Store, around 9.45pm, when the robbers struck. (HT FILE PHOTO)

Hemant Bansal, 32, a resident of Sector 16, told the police that he was walking out of the back side of his retail and wholesale shop, Madras Store, around 9.45pm. He was carrying a bag containing the cash, his mobile phone and car keys.

As he was about to close the store, two men, wearing helmets, pointed pistols at him, and demanded his bag. “They were both armed with pistols, and one even had a knife. Fearing for my life, I immediately handed over my bag. They then pushed me back inside the shop, closed the door from outside and fled the scene on a motorcycle,” Hemant told the police.

He said his father had recently returned from a visit abroad, and the US dollars in the bag were from then.

Nephew of local BJP leader Shyam Lal Bansal, Hemant said, “I immediately ran to the front of the shop, opened the shutter and ran outside. I tried to chase the robbers on foot, but they were gone. As I raised the alarm, some passers-by rushed towards me.”

A senior police official said on examining CCTV footage from the neighbouring shop, the miscreants appeared to be riding a scooter, rather than a motorcycle, as assessed by Hemant. His mobile phone and car keys were found later in the market’s parking area.

Deputy commissioner of police (DCP) Kamal Deep Goyal said, “Investigation was underway to trace and nab the accused.”

Acting on Hemant’s complaint, police have registered a case under Section 392 (robbery) of the Indian Penal Code and Arms Act.