Siwan gold robbery accused shot at during police chase

Patna: Ankit Kumar Singh (26), an accused in Jamapur gold shop robbery case, was shot in the leg by police during a chase on Monday morning. Ankit, a resident of Chandpur Ghurghat village under Siswan police station area, was allegedly involved in robbery of gold worth around Rs20 lakh from a jewellery shop in Jamapur market under Ziradei police station area in Siwan district on May 6.

Siwan SP Puran Kumar Jha said police received a tip-off that the accused was heading towards Mairwa. “A team chased him and soon an encounter took place on the road between Titra Bazar to Banka Mor,” the SP said.

He added that Ankit opened fire first during the chase. Police fired in retaliation and he was hit in the leg. He was taken to sadar hospital and later referred to Patna for better treatment.

According to police, on May 6, five men riding two bikes entered Om Sai jewellery shop in Jamapur market and held staff at gunpoint and looted around 300 grams of gold, nearly 9 kg of silver ornaments and cash. The robbers fired around 10 rounds while fleeing to scare locals. Amid the chaos, residents caught one of the robbers and thrashed him. An angry mob also set the criminals’ bike on fire. The incident triggered panic across the market.

After the heist, the SP Jha formed four special teams led by Sadar-II SDPO Gauri Kumari. Based on interrogation of the accused caught from the spot, police arrested three more men on May 15. The arrested were identified as Golu Kumar Yadav alias Dhriti, Kundan Kumar alias Kundan Kashyap, Pappu Kumar and Dhananjay Sah.

Police claimed to have recovered some looted jewellery and weapons from them.