Jewellers cheat death after robber's gun gets locked

An armed robbery bid on two jeweller brothers who were carrying 350 grams of gold was foiled in Titwala (East) on Sunday night. The jewellers were on their way home in their vehicle after downing the shutters of their jewellery store when they were accosted by a gang of robbers at 8.30 pm.

Lucky escape: Brothers Arvind (left) and Gurunath Shelar received head injuries and have been admitted to a hospital in Titwala. Pics/Abhijit Deshmukh

The robbers, however, had to leave empty-handed after the duo put up stiff resistance. In the process, the two brothers sustained injuries to their head.

The robbers had also tried to shoot one of them in attempt to make away the valuables but the gun didn't go off, thereby saving his life.

A gang of unidentified robbers armed with country-made pistols and swords blocked the path of the two jeweller car with their SUV, stepped out and start breaking the windshield and side glass to their car.

The police said Arvind and Gurunath Shelar, owners of Om Sai Jewellers in Titwala (E), were on their way to their residence in their vehicle, when the incident occurred.

u00a0

"After driving a little distance from their shop, six to seven people in an SUV blocked the path of their car and stepped out brandishing weapons.

One of the robbers then fired a few rounds in the air to scare them, but the duo refuse to part with the bag containing 35 tolas of gold; following this, one of the robbers hits him on the head. Illustration/Amit Bandre

They then started breaking the windshield and the side glass to snatch the bag containing the gold ornaments. But, after the brothers resisted, one of the robbers even fired a few rounds in the air to scare them.

But the brothers still did not part with the gold. An enraged robber then hit one of them on the head with the back of the pistol, which led to the firearm getting locked," said a police officer from Titwala police station.

The robber then tried to shoot him, but the gun did not fire, as it had gotten locked. The robbers then fled the spot after local residents started approaching, but not before assaulting one of the brothers with a sword

"Arvind then began screaming for help and angered by his resistance, the robber, unaware the fun was locked, tried to shoot him. Alerted by the commotion, several residents began running towards the spot, after which the gang fled, but not before assaulting the jeweller with a sword," added the police officer.

Despite the attack, the jewellers did not let go of the bag. "Both brothers were admitted to Ayush Hospital. While Arvind is in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU), Gurunath is out of danger.

We suspect that it might be a toy gun, and are trying to identify the robbers on the basis of the car they used," said Dilip Godbole, senior police inspector of Titwala police station.

The police added that the Shelar's jewellery shop had been robbed twice earlier wherein the robbers had escaped with the valuables and CCTV recordings. "Fearing another robbery, the brothers started taking all the jewellery back home," added cop. u00a0