Robbers hold Noida factory workers hostage

“I rushed to help him, but they hit me with the butt of a gun. There were 46 employees in the factory at the time. The gang held us hostage after tying our hands and legs together. They also took our mobile phones and threatened to kill us if we informed police. They then began loading garments into a canter,” he said.

Police said they had received a tip-off about a robbery in the industrial area around this time and immediately alerted three teams, which were patrolling Phase II. The teams were asked to check the entire industrial area.

Police said since the tip-off was not specific, they went from factory to factory checking if security guards were still present at their positions near each factory gate. When they reached the factory of Public Clothing Pvt Ltd, they found some men loading goods into a canter, police said.

“We approached them to enquire what they were doing and they opened fire. The gang had come prepared and had heavy-duty arms and ammunition. They opened fire from inside the factory. Two robbers were injured in the cross-fire,” Gautam Budh Nagar SSP Pritender Singh said.

With police teams surrounding the entire complex, in a desperate bid to escape, some of the gang members got inside the canter and drove off via the Noida-Greater Noida Expressway, police said. But their vehicle collided with a police vehicle. Police teams chased the canter and arrested three gang members.

They seized the canter carrying the loot, police said. But the rest of the gang managed to escape. Those arrested have been identified as Nausher, Immamuddin and Saleem, police said.

Noida police said they were tracking down the other gang members. They said the gang may have been responsible for similar loots in Noida and Greater Noida over the past few months. An FIR in the case has been lodged at Phase II police station.