Three rob trader of ₹20,000 at gunpoint at Ludhiana’s Lakhowal village

Turn up at victim’s shop posing as customers; appeared to be in their 20s and were conversing in Punjabi

Three men posing as customers robbed a shopkeeper of ₹20,000 in cash and a mobile phone at gunpoint in Lakhowal village, Koomkalan, on Thursday evening.

The accused came in asking for a mobile phone recharge and then brandished a gun to rob him. (Representative photo)

The victim, Avinash Chand, 26, of Mundian Kalan, told the police that he ran a mobile repair shop in Lakhowal village, where he had also set up a money transfer business.

On Thursday evening, he was repairing mobile phones, when three men turned up at his shop asking for a prepaid SIM recharge. When he told them he didn’t have any recharge coupon, the men started exploring the headphones available for sale.

Suddenly, one of the men brandished a gun at him and demanded the money in his cash box. When he tried to resist, the accused warned him against raising the alarm. The trio forcibly removed ₹20,000 in cash from his cash box and a mobile phone and fled the scene. Chand immediately sounded the police.

Chand said the men appeared to be in their mid-20s and were conversing in Punjabi.

Assistant sub-inspector (ASI) Harmesh Lal, who is investigating the case, said they had registered a case under Section 379-B (snatching) of the Indian Penal Code against the unidentified accused.

They are scanning the footage of CCTV cameras installed near the victim’s shop for clues about the accused.