Robbers upstage cops

MUMBAI, January 13: Over thousand occupants of the Hindustan Chamber building in the bustling Kalbadevi market thought they should be the la...

MUMBAI, January 13: Over thousand occupants of the Hindustan Chamber building in the bustling Kalbadevi market thought they should be the last target for robbery attempt. A lone gunshot shattered their faith in the security of their structure.

Seven armed unidentified persons barged into the building in broad daylight on Tuesday and shot at a labourer who tried to come in their way. Said eyewitness Bhavarsingh Rajpurohit, a gang of seven assembled at the entrance at around 4.55 pm before rushing up the flight of stairs to the upper floors of the building. They disconnected several telephone lines before setting upon threatening the occupants, he added.

Jivraj Maurya, who was working on the first floor, was shot at on his right thigh when he tried to prevent the robbers who opened fire to scare the occupants from assembling, the eyewitness said.

Hearing the sound of the gunshot, an unarmed constable Nasir Ahmed Sheikh attached to L T Marg police station rushed to the building. The robbers hit him on the head with the butt of a revolver and sensing that their attempt would be futile, they made good their escape.

Maurya with a bleeding thigh and Sheikh with severe injuries to the skull were admitted to the J J Hospital. Their condition is stated to be stable, confirmed a police officer.

“If Hindustan Chamber is not safe, then no building in Mumbai is. There were more 1,000 occupants when the robbers struck. Moreover, a few hundred businessmen visit the building each day to conduct business,” said Rajpurohit.

Later, members of the Kapda Vyapari Ekta Association (KVEA) held a meeting at the Hindustan Chamber to highlight the threat from armed gangs operating in the neighbourhood. The meeting was attended by several businessmen, including Bharatiya Janata Party MLA Raj Purohit and MLA Jayantiben Mehta.

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Association president Umedlal Shah lamented that there has been seven similar daylight robberies in the last two months. The spate of robberies has put a big question mark on the security arrangements bythe police, added Shah.

In the last incident in the same area on December 18, robbers decamped with 2.7 lakh. While the police claimed that police patrol has been increased following the recent incidents, the traders said this has not helped them feel safer.

The assistant commissioner of police (Kalbadevi division) N Manekshaw said that a major robbery has been foiled because of two constables in the area. However, no arrests have been made so far, confirmed Manekshaw.