HYDERABAD: In what is suspected to be a bungled robbery attempt, six pistol-wielding men terrorised a jewellery shop owner and others at Nagaram village on the city outskirts on Tuesday afternoon. The accused even opened a round of fire to threaten passersby, and dropped a fully-loaded weapon at the spot.
It all began when six men, riding triples on two bikes, reached RS Rathore Jewellers, owned by Roop Singh. Two of them entered the shop and asked Roop Singh to show a gold chain within a range of `15,000. When the owner said that gold chains were not available in that range, they asked to be shown gold rings in the same range.
Something in their demeanour made Singh suspicious and he raised an alarm. Immediately, one of the men pulled out a pistol and aimed at the jeweller. Hearing the commotion, Tulasidevi, who owns the jewellery shop nearby, came into the shop. The four other men, who were waiting outside, also entered the shop, raising a din.
The two men who were pointing the weapon punched Singh in the face. In the scuffle, Singh managed to snatch the weapon from them. At this, all the six men ran out of the shop and fired one round in the air. They then mounted their bikes and started off. After going some distance, one of the bikes rammed a car and all three fell down. They then intercepted a bike, hit the rider, and took away the bike.
Police found that one of the bikes used by the miscreants was stolen from a police constable. They issued a lookout notice and announced a reward of `50,000 for any clues. Going by the lingo of the offenders, police suspect the role of a inter-state gang. However, they are also not ruling out the role of persons from Northern states who are working in the surrounding areas. Police also recovered a country-made fully loaded pistol from the spot.