Brave senior citizen foils robbery bid

An alert senior citizen, with the help of three others, foiled a robbery attempt at a multi-storeyed building in Wadala.

On Saturday evening, four robbers managed to enter the second floor apartment at Kutchi Lohana Building in Wadala (W) at a time when its owner Jayesh Thakkar was out.

Courageous: Uma Gantantra (in black) started yelling for help when the thieves tried to attack her with choppers, which led to other residents being able to nab them

After the robbers, one of them identified as Altaf Shaikh, broke into the flat they tried breaking the locks on the cupboards to get their hands on the gold and other valuables inside.

Hearing noises coming from the apartment upstairs, 61-year-old Uma Gantantra, Thakkar's aunt, who resides on the first floor, decided to check what it was.

When she reached the apartment, she found that the main door was ajar, and started to ask if anyone was home.

When the robbers heard Gantantra, they lunged at her with choppers in their hands. But she managed to escape and started shouting for help.
Hearing Gantantra's cry for help, one of her neighbours, Kripa, ran upstairs and saw that the robbers were trying to stab her.

Soon, Nimesh Majithia and Jayesh Sacche rushed to Gantantra's rescue and nabbed the armed thieves. The duo held on to the robbers until the police arrived and took the robbers in custody.

The Matunga police officials said they arrested the four robbers and were remanded in police custody.

"We are investigating the case to see how the robbers were aware of the fact that Thakkar was not at home," said an official from the Matunga police station.

The police and the local BJP unit are planning to felicitate Gantantra for her alertness, as it was thanks to her bravery that the robbery bid was foiled and the culprits were caught.u00a0