Delhi bizman robbed of ₹28L at gunpoint outside a bank

When Sharma resisted, the man with the pistol pulled the trigger but the gun did not fire. Two men pushed Sharma away and fled with the bag. RS SAGAR, additional deputy commissioner of police (outer)

NEW DELHI: A 59-year-old petrol pump owner was robbed at gunpoint of ₹27.8 lakh cash by four men in outer Delhi’s Pooth Kalan near Sultanpuri on Monday afternoon. Police said the man runs a petrol pump in Rohini and had visited a bank to deposit cash collected over the weekend when he was targeted.

The businessman also tried to chase the accused in his Mercedes car but the accused took advantage of heavy traffic and sped away.

According to police, Anil Sharma, the victim, reached the bank at 12.40pm with Abid, the caretaker at his petrol pump. As he got off his car, an unidentified man approached him.

“The man kept his hand on Sharma’s shoulder and tried to pose as if he is known to him. When Sharma refused to identify the man, three more men joined the stranger and one of them pulled out a pistol,” said RS Sagar, additional deputy commissioner of police (outer), quoting the complainant’s statement.

Sagar said one of the men pointed the pistol at Sharma while the other three tried to snatch the cash bag from him. “When Sharma resisted, the man with the pistol pulled the trigger but the gun did not fire. Two men pushed Sharma away and fled with the bag. They had parked their two bikes just about 50 metres away,” Sagar said.

Sharma and Abid also tried to chase the bikers in their car but they accused took advantage of the traffic and managed to speed away, police said.

The additional DCP said, according to the complainant, the bag contained ₹27,85,750.

“Sharma had gone to the bank to deposit the cash collected over the weekend. The bank is about one kilometre from Sharma’s petrol pump and he deposits his cash on his own. He has not hired any security service for depositing his money. It seems someone who knew Sharma deposits cash on his own is involved in the robbery. A case has been registered at Sulatanpuri police station. We are showing the complainant dossiers of criminals active in the area to identify them,” the additional DCP said.

Police also said that since the pistol did not fire, the robbers could have used a toy pistol to frighten Sharma. Police also said that Sharma saw only four men, but they are probing involvement of others who might have passed the information to accused about movement of cash.