Six inter-state offenders were arrested by Rachakonda Police and jewellery worth Rs. 1.35 crores were recovered from them. Firearms and vehicles were also recovered from their possession by police. The weapons included a country-made pistol, an air pistol and a dagger. Four other members of the gang are still absconding.
According to the police, victim Raj Kumar Surana and his assistant Sukhdev Devasi started from Raj's home on his motorcycle carrying about three kgs of gold ornaments in a bag with the intention of selling them in different jewellery shops across the city. After visiting different jewellery shops, they finally reached Mahadev Jewellers at Chaitanyapuri and waited as shop owner Kalyan Chowdhary was busy with other customers.
Once customers left, they started displaying their jewellery to Chowdhary. All of a sudden, two unknown persons entered the shop while the third one dropped the shop's shutter from outside. The accused held the three at gunpoint and demanded the bag of jewellery from Raj and Sukhdev. They even threatened the victims with dire consequences if the bag was not handed over to them. When resisted, the accused opened fire, badly injuring Chowdhary and Sukhdev. The assailants then forcibly snatched their jewellery bag, opened the shutter and escaped on bikes.
The six accused who have been arrested by the Police are Manish Dewasi, Mohammed Firoz, Sumer Choudary, Gudiya Jaat, Manish Vaishnav and Ritesh Vaishnav. Gold ornaments, firearms, vehicles and cash have also been seized from them. Four other accused, namely, Mahender, Sumit Dagar, Manish and Maniya are still absconding. The accused have been charged under several sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and CRPC. They have also been charged with violation of the Indian arms act and a case has been registered.
Speaking about the incident, Rachakonda Commissioner Mahesh Bhagwat further advised jewellery shop owners to install sensors, alarms and CCTV cameras inside and outside their shops. He also urged them to avoid routine transportation of jewellery and always maintain an element of surprise so that miscreants are not able to track their movement.
( With inputs from ANI )
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