Petrol pump guard guns down criminal

They thrashed the petrol pump staff and barged inside the cabin while pointing swords and knives at them.

The dacoits then locked the staff in the petrol pump office,snatched their mobile phones,looted a cash of about Rs 10,000 from the cash counter and fled from the spot.

Daulatrao Patil,Masoom Shaikh,Rizwan Pathan,who were working at the petrol pump,were injured in the incident.

Dudhani and his aides then reached the Rajesh Petrol pump at 1.45 am. They beat up two employees,Deepak Rankhambe and Raju Ghodke,and threatened to kill them. At knife-point,the dacoits looted a cash of Rs 70,000 and demanded more money.

The staff told them Santoshkumar Srivastav (36),the private security guard at the pump,had the money. The dacoits rushed towards Srivastav,but before they could attack him he opened fire on them from his 12-bore gun.

Dudhani took a hit and collapsed while other dacoits managed to escape from the spot with the looted cash,leaving their four-wheeler behind.

The employees then called the Pune rural police and senior officers,including superintendent Pratap Dighavkar,visited the pumps.

The police took Dudhani to the Sassoon hospital,but he was pronounced dead upon arrival. The police also seized the four-wheeler used by the dacoits. Investigation revealed that the vehicle was stolen from Yerwada a few days ago.

The Shirur police station and the local crime branch of the Pune rural police are conducting parallel investigations. Teams have been dispatched in search of Dudhani’s accomplices.