Contractor resists gold chain snatching in Patna, shot at

PATNA: An unidentified criminal shot at a building construction department contractor when he resisted the snatching of a costly gold chain from his elder brother’s wife outside their residence at Punaichak under Shastri Nagar police station area in Patna on Saturday morning.
The woman, Mridula Chandra (48), was returning from morning walk. The criminal escaped on foot after snatching her chain worth around Rs2 lakh.The injured Suresh Chandra, 48, has been a contractor for the BCD for the last 24 years. He lives in a four-storey house with his three more brothers and other family members. The bullet pierced through his left shoulder.
He is undergoing treatment in the ICU of Patna Medical College and Hospital. His son Shubham Chandra told TOI at the PMCH that his aunt Mridula’s husband Umesh Chandra is an engineer in Odisha government and is posted at Bhubaneswar. “The incident took place at around 6.35am when she had reached the entrance of our residence after a morning walk,” he said.
Shubam said a youth was following her when she entered the lane which has a dead end. “After reaching near the house, she presumed that he might have entered the lane mistakenly and told him that it has a dead end. However, the youth reached near her on the pretext of asking for an address,” he said.
Shubham said the criminal soon pulled out a pistol and started snatching the gold chain worth around Rs 2 lakh and other ornaments from the aunt.
“She was assaulted and started screaming out of fear.Hearing it, my father jumped out of bed and checked from window and immediately rushed out,” he said and added that his uncle Ganesh Chandra, a businessman, also rushed and asked her to give everything whatever the criminal wants.
“However, my father pounded on the criminal after which he fired at him and esaped with the gold chain,” he said.
Shastri Nagar police station SHO Ramashankar Singh said police were scanning the CCTV camera footage around the spot. “Another criminal might be on a bike a little far from the spot. Police are trying to ascertain the suspect’s identity,” he added.
The criminals generally target those on the morning walk to snatch gold chains or valuables and several such cases have been reported in different localities of the state capital in recent past. On June 27, two bike-borne criminals had snatched a gold chain worth around Rs75,000 from the vice-president of a private firm, Manish Kumar, during morning walk near Rajiv Nagar police station on Ashiana-Digha road.