Jewellery shop robbery bid: Four arrested in 24 hours

BENGALURU: In a swift operation Vyalikaval police have arrested four armed robbers in connection with an attempt to carry out robbery in a jewellery shop in P.G. Halli near Vinayaka circle. The case was cracked within 24 hours after the incident.

The incident, which took place in Samrat Jewellers, has sent shock waves in the city as the robbers were armed and they had even fired in the air. The robbery was foiled thanks to the bravery and presence of mind shown by shop owner couple Ashish and Raakhi as they chased them out of the premises.

The arrested have been identified as Balaji Ramesh Gayakwad (25), a resident of Sholapur, Maharashtra, Balwan Singh (24), hailing from Bhimani in Haryana, Sriram Bishnoi (26), a resident of Barmer, Rajasthan and Omprakash (27), a resident of Jalore in Rajasthan.

Police Commissioner Bhaskar Rao commended the subordinates for solving the case within 24 hours. “This work of police has been brought to the notice of the chief minister. We also commend the courage of the couple who fought with robbers,” he said. He also announced Rs 1 lakh cash as the prize money for the team.

They fired in the air
Two country made pistols, bullets, mobile phones were seized from the accused. The police is trying to ascertain whether they were involved in any other crimes.

Ashish, the complainant, owner of Samrat Jewellers told police that around 2.30 pm, three unknown people entered his shop under the pretext of purchasing ornaments.

One of them asked for Sachin Tendulkar gold chain and the other took out his pistol and opened fire in air. The bullet had hit the shop ceiling.

The robbers tried to rob the jewellery. However, Ashish’s wife Raakhi immediately grabbed a chair lying next to her and threw it on the robbers. The couple also screamed for help. “When my wife threw the chair, they were taken aback and fearing that other people would come they fled,” Ashish said.

The couple then chased them, even though they were armed with guns.

Raakhi said they didn’t know what the robbers were up to. It appeared that they wanted to threaten and rob. They just asked for the chain and did not speak a word.

Based on their complaint, FIR was registered by Vyalikaval police. Arms Act and IPC 307 and 393 were invoked. Three special teams were formed under Vyalikaval inspector Yogendra Kumar, Sadashivnagar inspector Naveen and Sheshadripuram inspector Sanjeev Gowda. These teams were supervised by Niranjanraj Urs, ACP Shehadripuram.

These teams worked on different clues available and team led by Sanjeev Gowda was successful in catching four accused from a rented house in D.V.G. Layout.

“It’s all about the guts of the couple. Their reaction was instantaneous. They daringly attacked the robbers. We got finger prints and recovered substantial evidence from the scene of the crime as the robbers had fled in panic,” said an investigating officer.

Vyalikaval police are investigating the antecedent of the accused persons. They are also looking to trace the source of the weapons.