Daring robbery bid at GIP mall foiled, two arrested

Armed assailants, including a sacked employee of a home-making retail chain, tried unsuccessfully to stage an audacious robbery at the Great India Place (GIP) Mall in Noida, Sector 38A on Monday. The robbers shot at and injured two people, before being caught by the public.

Armed assailants, including a sacked employee of a home-making retail chain, tried unsuccessfully to stage an audacious robbery at the Great India Place (GIP) Mall in Noida, Sector 38A on Monday. The robbers shot at and injured two people, before being caught by the public.

The event that unfolded in broad daylight has raised serious question marks on safety at one of the busiest shopping districts in Noida. Spread across an area of 1,500,000-square-foot, the GIP mall is one of the largest operational shopping malls in the NCR and registers massive footfall throughout the day.

Police said the incident took place around 1.30 pm when two assailants went to Home Town retail shop in the mall's basement. At that time, an employee of a private company — which collects cash from several shops to deposit in the bank — had come there to collect money. The assailants snatched a bag containing R15 lakh from the private company employee and fled outside the shopping area.

When a security guard tried to stop them, they opened fire at him. The guard, identified as Rajesh Kumar Mishra, took the bullet in his left hand. He was taken to Vinayak Hospital.

Police said a third assailant was waiting on a motorbike outside the mall. An auto driver, Mukesh Yadav, hit their bike with his vehicle in a bid to stop them. The assailants shot him in the stomach.

"Immediately, cops at a post outside the mall chased the three. Soon, passersby and other security guards also rushed to the scene and overpowered two robbers, while one managed to flee," said Praveen Kumar, senior superintendent of police (SSP). The crowd thrashed the duo and they had to be taken to a hospital. The auto driver was also taken to Vinayak Hospital where doctors removed the bullet and said he was out of danger.

Those arrested were identified as Vikram from Hathras and Guddu from Jalesar in Uttar Pradesh. The one who managed to flee has been identified as Babu. Police said Vikram used to work at Home Town. Three months ago, he was sacked. He went to his sister's house in Aligarh where he met Guddu and Babu and planned the robbery.

Though it remained a mystery as to how the assailants were able to sneak in a firearm into the mall, police and the mall management have not admitted to a security lapse. "We are yet to ascertain through which route the assailant entered the mall. They were not carrying any weapon inside the shopping area; nor did they fire there," said Ashish Sharma, GIP general manager.

"They snatched a bag and used a lane which connects a warehouse in the basement to the entry gate number 3. We will scan the CCTV footage to know the details," he said.

Police have recovered a gun and the bike and seized the cash bag.