Jeweller looted at gunpoint in east Delhi, hurt

NEW DELHI: Three armed robbers barged into a jewellery shop in the Laxmi Nagar area and fled with jewellery worth lakhs after injuring the owner. The incident occurred at around 2pm when the jeweller, Tapan Guihhiet, 35, was alone in his shop.
Guihhiet said the robbers stole jewellery worth more than Rs 10 lakhs but the police, who reportedly arrived half an hour after they were informed, said the figure was closer to Rs 2 lakh.“We are investigating the matter and the robbers will be arrested soon,” said Prabhakar, DCP east.
This statement is small consolation to Guihhiet, who was so shocked he could barely speak. “How can a shop that is right in the middle of a busy market be looted in broad daylight? Is there no law? My entire business has been ruined,” said Guihhiet, through tears.
Describing the incident, Guihhiet said, “Two men posing as customers entered the shop and asked me to show them some jewellery. Suddenly, one of them pulled out a knife, while another whipped out a revolver and asked me to give them the keys to the locker. After they had emptied the entire contents of the locker into a bag, they hit me with the butt of their revolver. Afraid that they would kill me I pretended to fall unconscious. As they left I raised an alarm but no one arrived to help.”
Guihhiet said the robbers wore branded shirts and trousers and seemed to have done their homework. They knew everything about the shop including the fact that only a few people frequented the lane at around 2pm as it was lunch time.
Local residents and businessmen blamed the administration and said the police had failed to keep a check on crime in the area and demanded the transfer of the SHO of PS Shakarpur.
Umesh Aggarwal, a local businessman, said, “This is the second such incident in the recent past. We rarely see the beat officer or police patrolling the area. The station in-charge does not pay any attention to our complaints. The residents and businessmen feel so unsafe in this area. Will the police only take action after a major tragedy occurs?”
Sukhmal Jain, a local resident and businessman, said, “A jewellery shop is looted and the police arrives half an hour later. How are we supposed to conduct business in such an atmosphere of fear?”