Pandemic blues: Man gets pay cut, son robs to pay school fees

Police said the boy claimed that his father salary cut made it impossible for him to pay his school fees.

A student of a reputed school in Uttarakhand’s Rudrapur allegedly took to robbery because his father was unable to deposit the school fees after a salary cut in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, police said Friday.

The schoolboy was among four people arrested for robbing an employee of a cash management company at gunpoint . (Representational Photo)

The revelation came after the police arrested four persons including two students on Thursday in connection with the loot of ₹ 5.35-lakh that took place in Rudrapur area in US Nagar district on December 23.

Amit Kumar, circle officer (CO), Rudrapur, said, “Four persons have been arrested for robbing an employee of a cash management company, while a fifth suspect is absconding. One of the students revealed during interrogation that he committed the crime to deposit his school fee.”

Kumar said, “The student revealed that his father works in a factory in Rudrapur. After his father’s salary was reduced by the management due to loss to the factory, he was not in a position to deposit the school fees so he got involved in crime.”

The accused looted ₹ 5.35-lakh from Sachin Sharma, a resident of Balwant Enclave Colony and an employee of a cash management company at gunpoint, the officer said.

Kumar said Sharma was on his way to the bank to deposit the cash and cheques.