In yet another case of daring daylight robbery, four unidentified armed assailants struck at a trader’s shop in northwest Delhi on Wednesday afternoon by holding four staff members hostage at gunpoint and allegedly looting Rs 22 lakhs.
The police said the incident took place at around 3 pm on Wednesday in D block on Rajan Babu Road in the Adarsh Nagar area. In his statement, the victim Prem Chand, who is a wholesaler of wheat and rice, stated that two unidentified men barged in the shop. “They were followed by two more men who were armed with pistols. Mr Chand was held hostage, along with his son Kishan, son-in-law Deepak and an employee by the two armed assailants while the others ransacked the lockers and took away Rs 22 lakhs cash,” Mr Chand said in his statement.
“They held the staff hostage on gunpoint. While two of them positioned themselves outside the shop, others brandished their weapons and threatened the staff,” the police said. When the staff resisted, they were beaten up.
The robbers earlier snatched the phones from the staff besides snapping the landline connection so that police could not be alerted. They also closed all the entrances before making away with the booty.
The victim were tied and locked in the shop by the robbers who managed to escape from the area. In the meantime, one of the employees, who had gone for some work, returned and freed the staff. The police was informed and a case was registered at the nearby police station.