deepak pace
DJ_DEE
In a broad daylight heist, six armed youths, one of them posing as a policeman, looted jewellery worth crores from PC Jewellers in Sector 14, Panchkula, today morning.
The suspects also fled with a revolver belonging to a private security guard employed at the shop. Though no one was injured in the incident, the suspects fired a couple of rounds from their .9mm pistol to scare the staff. One shot was fired inside the shop during dacoity, the other was fired to make good their escape in the gateway. Later, they fled in the Hyundai Verna car.
The incident took place at around 10.45 am when the staff was in the process of opening the shop. One of the suspects, who was wearing police uniform, approached the security guard claiming that they had come in connection with some inquiry and wanted to question an employee, Gita.
In a bid to give credence to their claims, one of the suspects was even handcuffed to show that it was a police investigation. They were apparently able to convincingly sell their story to the guard who allowed them entry to the reception area.
The guard, Amit Kumar, subsequently went to inform chief manager R.N. Singla, who unsuspectingly came out to meet the so-called police team. The moment Singla came into the reception area, the suspects, who were all armed, took out their weapons and forced both Singla and the guard into the showroom.
The suspects then reportedly threatened all the staff members with dire consequences and made them lay down on the floor. A staff member was also kicked by one of the suspects.
The suspects also put a pistol on one of the employees, Poonam, and had also pressed the trigger. Luckily the weapon did not work.
Narrating the incident, the guard, Amit, said the suspects had behaved like typical policemen. Their style of speaking was akin to that of cops and they used chaste Haryanvi, he added. Amit said the suspects had also snatched his revolver before entering the showroom.
Panchkula SP Sandip Khirwar said: “The dacoits fled in the golden colour Verna carafter firing two bullets, one inside the showroom and other at the entrance.” He said two empty shells of .9mm bullets had been recovered from the spot. “There was no customer inside the showroom at that time,” Khirwar added.
The police confirmed that the robbers used fake number plates bearing registration number (CH-03-A-2203), which originally belongs to a Maruti car.
Vishal, an eyewitness and a resident of the same sector, said, “One of the accused was wearing a turban and the driver remained sitting in the car. The suspects ran out of the showroom with their hands full of jewellery and fired two shots in the air while fleeing from the spot in their car. They took the road behind the showroom to escape easily.
Another eyewitness said that the public found some gold bangles scattered on the road and returned it to the showroom executives.
The Panchkula SP said, “The robbers seem to be experienced as they did their job with ease and the operation lasted not more than two-three minutes”.
The police said that a case had been registered in this regard and the investigations were on to nab the accused. The Central Forensic Sciences Laboratory (CFSL) team along with the dog squad reached the spot and collected samples. Moreover, teams consisting of operation cell, CIA, crime branch of the UT Police were present to assist the Panchkula Police. Police sources disclosed that the CCTVs footage was being reviewed to ascertain the identity of the suspects.
President, Panchkula Jewellers’ Association Deep Krishan Chauhan, alleged that there was no police vigil in the market and not even a single beat box had been placed there. Other shopkeepers question the so-called preparedness of the police since the incident happened a day after the Republic Day celebrations when security forces all around the country were in a state of “high alert”. Sanjay Kumar, owner of the security provider company, said that three security personnel were deployed here during the daytime and four personnel for the night shift. The CMD of PC Jewellers, Balram Garg claimed that the suspects decamped with jewellery worth Rs 1.75 crore.
The suspects also fled with a revolver belonging to a private security guard employed at the shop. Though no one was injured in the incident, the suspects fired a couple of rounds from their .9mm pistol to scare the staff. One shot was fired inside the shop during dacoity, the other was fired to make good their escape in the gateway. Later, they fled in the Hyundai Verna car.
The incident took place at around 10.45 am when the staff was in the process of opening the shop. One of the suspects, who was wearing police uniform, approached the security guard claiming that they had come in connection with some inquiry and wanted to question an employee, Gita.
In a bid to give credence to their claims, one of the suspects was even handcuffed to show that it was a police investigation. They were apparently able to convincingly sell their story to the guard who allowed them entry to the reception area.
The guard, Amit Kumar, subsequently went to inform chief manager R.N. Singla, who unsuspectingly came out to meet the so-called police team. The moment Singla came into the reception area, the suspects, who were all armed, took out their weapons and forced both Singla and the guard into the showroom.
The suspects then reportedly threatened all the staff members with dire consequences and made them lay down on the floor. A staff member was also kicked by one of the suspects.
The suspects also put a pistol on one of the employees, Poonam, and had also pressed the trigger. Luckily the weapon did not work.
Narrating the incident, the guard, Amit, said the suspects had behaved like typical policemen. Their style of speaking was akin to that of cops and they used chaste Haryanvi, he added. Amit said the suspects had also snatched his revolver before entering the showroom.
Panchkula SP Sandip Khirwar said: “The dacoits fled in the golden colour Verna carafter firing two bullets, one inside the showroom and other at the entrance.” He said two empty shells of .9mm bullets had been recovered from the spot. “There was no customer inside the showroom at that time,” Khirwar added.
The police confirmed that the robbers used fake number plates bearing registration number (CH-03-A-2203), which originally belongs to a Maruti car.
Vishal, an eyewitness and a resident of the same sector, said, “One of the accused was wearing a turban and the driver remained sitting in the car. The suspects ran out of the showroom with their hands full of jewellery and fired two shots in the air while fleeing from the spot in their car. They took the road behind the showroom to escape easily.
Another eyewitness said that the public found some gold bangles scattered on the road and returned it to the showroom executives.
The Panchkula SP said, “The robbers seem to be experienced as they did their job with ease and the operation lasted not more than two-three minutes”.
The police said that a case had been registered in this regard and the investigations were on to nab the accused. The Central Forensic Sciences Laboratory (CFSL) team along with the dog squad reached the spot and collected samples. Moreover, teams consisting of operation cell, CIA, crime branch of the UT Police were present to assist the Panchkula Police. Police sources disclosed that the CCTVs footage was being reviewed to ascertain the identity of the suspects.
President, Panchkula Jewellers’ Association Deep Krishan Chauhan, alleged that there was no police vigil in the market and not even a single beat box had been placed there. Other shopkeepers question the so-called preparedness of the police since the incident happened a day after the Republic Day celebrations when security forces all around the country were in a state of “high alert”. Sanjay Kumar, owner of the security provider company, said that three security personnel were deployed here during the daytime and four personnel for the night shift. The CMD of PC Jewellers, Balram Garg claimed that the suspects decamped with jewellery worth Rs 1.75 crore.
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