28 January,2009 09:46 AM IST | | Alisha Coelho
In a brazen act that fell flat, members of a housing society in Thane apprehended and thrashed two youths who attempted to rob a jeweler's wife at gunpoint in their residential parking lot.
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The incident took place on Tuesday night at Shiv Housing Society in Kopri where two youths approached the car that was pulling up in front of the building entrance. The car had two passengers, jeweller Kishore Kevalramani's wife and his store worker Purshottam Laxmandas Rajpal (22) and threw red chilli powder into the face of the driver, Ramawad Yadav (30). They then tried to make off with a bag in the car containing 150 gm of gold but one thief was held by the driver upon which the other fired, injuring Rajpal in the right forearm. Members of the society alerted by the gunshot then surrounded the thieves, but one managed to give the crowd the slip. The other, Sheikh Muzaffar Hussain (38) was handed over to the Kopri police.
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Kevalramani who runs M K Gems in Thane was rattled by the incident. 'I came home 15 minutes before my wife did to change my shirt and I saw these two boys below the building but I didn't give them a second glance. It's only when I heard my wife scream and the gunshot, did I rush down. Something like this has never happened before. My wife is really traumatized,u0094 he said.
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Meanwhile several members of Shiv Society and even the surrounding neighborhood were keen to claim responsibility for nabbing the thief. 'It's bad luck that the other one got away but we came running as soon as we heard the shot. Luckily no one else got injured,u0094 said one society member.
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Rajpal was rushed to Sion Hospital for treatment and Hussain is in the custody of the Kopri police. 'We recovered a countrymade revolver and a few rounds of ammunition from him. We are on the lookout for his companion,u0094 the police said.
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