To trap robber, locals lock him in shop with jeweller

The robber, who allegedly held Bandra jewellery storeowner at gunpoint, was locked in the shop along with the owner until cops arrived at the scene

In a bid to foil a robbery attempt, shopkeepers in a Bandra neighbourhood locked a jeweller in his store along with the robber, until the cops arrived at the spot.

The drama unfolded last Tuesday when the accused, identified as Sanjay, entered Sonal Jewellers at Bharat Nagar in Bandra (E) and allegedly held the owner, Lalji Sharma, at gunpoint.


When Lalji Sharma screamed for help, a neighbouring store
owner came to his rescue and closed the shutters, trapping
the culprit

Sharma told the BKC police that he had finished showing some jewellery to a customer when a woman walked into the shop. She asked Sharma to show her some anklets, as another man, Sanjay, followed her in.

Sharma and eyewitnesses outside the shop told the police that after Sanjay entered the shop, he allegedly put a gun to Sharma's head and asked him to hand over all the jewellery in the showcase.

u00a0Said Yusuf Modi, who owns a neighbouring jewellery store, "Sharma, however, tried to overpower Sanjay, and started shouting for help.
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When the two were engaged in a scuffle, a man outside the shop came running to me and narrated the incident. I immediately ran to the shop and closed its shutter from outside to restrict Sanjay from fleeing."

u00a0Modi then informed the BKC police. Said Vinayak Sawade, senior inspector of BKC police station, "People from nearby shops entered the jewellery store when we arrived and caught hold of Sanjay."

The police and the witnesses also suspect the role of the woman who entered the shop just before Sanjay did. While Sharma was locked inside the shop, the woman told him that she was a resident of Goregaon.
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"Soon after the incident, the woman fled the spot, taking advantage of the commotion.

Why would someone commute all the way from Goregaon to Bandra to buy a pair of anklets?" Modi argued. "We have arrested Sanjay and are trying to find if he has a criminal record.

The gun used by him to threaten Sharma was a country-made revolver," added Sawade.