Youth tries to rob store with toy gun

MADURAI: Animesh Kuka (23) was arrested by police when he tried to rob a popular jewellery outlet here on Friday night with a toy gun.
The youth told police that he planned to rob the jewellery shop to buy a fancy motorcycle.
"He told us he robbed the jewellery outlet since he was desperate to buy a fancy motorcycle worth about Rs 15 lakh. He had friends in Madurai but no one was associated in the robbery attempt," said a senior police official.
The youth, who studied till Class 12, initially called himself Mahesh but has been identified as Animesh Kuka (23) from Jharkhand. Animesh had entered a Tanishq outlet around closing time on Friday night when there were just a couple of customers. He enquired about diamond necklaces posing as a customer and picked up a few ornaments. He then ordered them to be packed. But when a staff at the cash counter demanded payment, he pulled out a toy gun and threatened him to hand over the jewels. Even as the staff at the outlet screamed in panic, the youth grabbed a piece of diamond jewellery and attempted to flee. But the security guard pulled down the shutters in time and alerted the police who rushed to the spot and arrested Animesh.
Only later did it come to light that Animesh had duped the staff of a two-wheeler showroom in the city earlier in the day and fled with a motorcycle on the pretext of taking it for a test ride. "He took away a brand new bike from the unassuming staff of the showroom in the morning. By evening, he made a number plate for the motorcycle with a fancy number, after hiding the bike in his house at Mahathma Gandhi Nagar. Later in the night, he went on the new bike for the robbing expedition," said C Rajendran, deputy commissioner (crime).
Police said Animesh, along with his elder brother Abishek Kuka, had settled in Madurai seven years ago and were selling law books. Animesh used to visit a gymnasium in the locality and wanted to enjoy a flamboyant lifestyle like some of the visitors to the gym. "He used to watch a lot of movies and had developed a craving to earn money to lead a life like film actors," said a police officer. He had purchased a toy gun from Chennai six months ago.
"His brother is not aware of Animesh's plans. In fact, investigations have revealed that Animesh had no past history of offences. But we are probing if he had planned more such robberies in the city," said the officer.