Armed robbers escaped with gold and silver ornaments worth Rs. 25 crore on Tuesday after shooting and injuring two jewellers and killing the driver of a sports utility vehicle (SUV) in which they were travelling in Bihar’s Begusarai district, the police said.
The incident took place in the Thakurichak neighbourhood under the limits of the Garhara police outpost. The police said the two jewellers suffered gunshot injuries and a third person, another jeweller, was unhurt. The slain driver was identified as Dipak Kumar, .
The incident took place around 9 am, an hour after the three jewellers, all from Begusarai town reached Barauni from Kolkata by train, and were on their way home after buying jewellery from wholesalers in the eastern metropolis. The three, identified as Prince Soni, Abhya Kumar Singh and Santosh Kumar, were carrying gold and silver ornaments in three bags.
Begusarai range deputy inspector general (DIG) Rajesh Kumar said that the three jewellers alighted from Kathgodam Express at the Barauni junction.
“They had gone to buy ornaments from wholesalers in Kolkata to cater to the requirement of local customers during the forthcoming wedding season. We are ascertaining the value of the looted ornaments. We suspect the miscreants had prior knowledge of arrival of the stock of gold from Kolkata and targeted the businessmen. There is a possibility that someone known to the jewellers might have tipped off the robbers. All angles are being probed,” the DIG said.
On their way to Begusarai, the SUV was intercepted at Thakurichak by the criminals. Police suspect the criminals knew beforehand that the jewellers would be arriving with their consignment and committed the crime with clockwork precision. They said the assailants, riding a black motorbike, fired at the jewellers sitting inside the SUV soon after intercepting the vehicle and took away the bags containing the jewellery. The SUV driver died on the spot and Soni and Santosh Kumar were injured in the shooting
“We suspect that the criminals were following the jewellers after they alighted from the train at Barauni station in the morning. They had a plan chalked out well in advance and executed it,” said a police officer engaged in the investigation. The police are studying CCTV footage to identify the robbers.
The police said that based on preliminary investigations and statements given by one of the jewellers, the ornaments were estimated to be worth Rs 25 crore.
The Garhara police have registered a case based and begun a probe. The police have registered an offence under sections 302 (murder) 307 (attempt to murder), 397 (robbery or dacoity, with attempt to cause death or grievous hurt) and 395 (dacoity) of the Indian Penal Code.
Begusarai is a prominent commercial hub in Bihar. The incident sparked protests in the town, with a large number of businessmen holding demonstrations against what they described as a deteriorating law and order situation. The police were deployed in strength in the town as the protestors changed slogans against the police and the civilian administration.
