Daylight robbery at Ghaziabad’s Chopla market: Armed man loots ₹50,000 from jewellery shop

Ghaziabad: In a daylight robbery at a busy market in the district, an armed man robbed a jeweller of ₹50,000 cash inside his shop on Monday afternoon. The police

Ghaziabad: In a daylight robbery at a busy market in the district, an armed man robbed a jeweller of ₹50,000 cash inside his shop on Monday afternoon. The police said that the incident was captured in a CCTV camera and they have formed teams to trace the masked suspect.

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The incident took place in the busy market at Chopla which houses about 15-20 big jewellery shops and other business establishments.

According to Anil Garg, the shop owner, the robber barged into the shop around 12.30pm while two women customers were making purchases. Garg said that the robber then pointed a gun at his son, Bharat, who was at the cash counter.

“The two women gave ₹50,000 to my son for the jewellery items they had purchased. Suddenly, a masked man of around 30 years in age barged in and pulled out a pistol which he pointed towards my son. Holding him at gunpoint, the robber took the money from the cash counter and ran out with the gun in his hand,” Garg said.

He added that the entire incident took place in just about 15-30 seconds and was also captured in a CCTV camera installed at his shop.

“After the robber ran out, we alerted our staff and also the staff of our other shop nearby. But the man disappeared in the crowd, threatening visitors not to come near him. He had come with a bag on his shoulders which fell down when he fled. It contained clothes and we handed it to the police. The police also took away the recording device of the CCTV,” the shop owner said.

According to Garg, other shop owners said that the gunman was taking rounds of different shops and probably trying to find a suitable one for loot. “He must have seen the women customers handing over money to my son and then he barged inside and looted the cash,” Garg added.

The police said that they have received a complaint from the jeweller and have registered an FIR at Kotwali police station. “We have registered a case of robbery and several teams have been formed to track the suspect. The bag which he left behind contained daily wear clothes. We are investigating the matter and checking the CCTV footage to get clues,” said Abhay Kumar Mishra, circle officer (city 1).