Sector 44 heist — matter of 33 minutes

Amit Sharma

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, May 15

The three unidentified persons who robbed a jewellery store at gunpoint in Sector 44 carried out the heist in 33 minutes. The footage of CCTV cameras installed near the store reveals that two robbers were wearing caps and had their faces covered, while the third one was wearing a turban and was sporting a fake beard.

The suspects, who seemed to be in their mid-thirties, two of them carrying guns, walked into the jewellery store, took the victim, Harsh Bedi, hostage and looted cash and jewellery lying in the store.

The CCTV cameras installed in the showroom next to the jewellery store revealed that two robbers entered the store together from the side of the front parking of the showroom, followed by the third one, who arrived from the other side. The miscreants closed the shutter from inside.

The footage of a camera installed inside the store shows one of the suspects pointing a pistol at the victim and thrashing him. He was made to sit in one of the sofas at the store while the heist was carried out. The miscreants also opened the drawers of the cash counter. They left one by one, the first one carrying a bag full of jewellery followed by the remaining ones. The police said they were working on various angles. The victim, meanwhile, has been admitted to a hospital in Mohali. The robbers had done a recce before striking at the store, said the police. 

Victim kept bag of  jewellery in car

Sources said minutes before the robbery, the victim had kept a bag containing jewellery in his car parked outside his showroom. One of the robbers, who was wearing a turban, came out of the showroom, took the bag from the car and went back to the showroom. 

Woman kept watch outside?

While the miscreants were robbing the store, a woman was standing outside the store in the parking. It is suspected that she was keeping a watch while the heist was being carried out. She left after the robbers escaped from the spot.