Howrah: Armed gang loots Rs 1 crore from trader – Times of India

HOWRAH: Four youths allegedly robbed a businessman of Rs 1 crore from his shop on Belilious Road in Howrah on Tuesday afternoon.
As the taxi they were travelling in got stuck in traffic snarls, the youths allegedly jumped out of the car, brandishing firearms and fled from the spot.
Locals managed to catch the taxi driver, who was stuck in the snarl, and hand him over to the police.
The businessman Dilip Verma, who deals with iron and steel trading, kept Rs 1 crore at his office for some payments. Around 10am, the youths entered his shop in the guise of buyers. While one of them was waiting outside, three others threatened to kill him if he did not hand over the money to them. They were carrying bombs along with revolvers.
“The youth tied me to the chair, strapped my mouth and looted the entire cash,” said Verma. He told cops that he could recognise none of the three youths who had entered his shop. Cops also interrogated Verma’s employees and examined their mobile phones and their call records to check whether there was any insider’s role in the robbery.
Cops recovered CCTV footage inside Verma’s shop and outside.
Interrogating the driver, cops came to know that the taxi was hired by five youths from Howrah Maidan. One of them dropped off midway. The youths asked him to park the taxi a little away from the shop. The driver told cops that he had no inkling about their intention till they jumped off his car, brandishing revolvers and bombs.
“We are examining the CCTV footage and tracking some phone numbers. We hope to make an early breakthrough in this case,” said a senior Howrah City police officer. The incident, however, caused a serious stir at Belilious Road in Howrah dotted with shops of iron and steel merchants. “We have been running trades here. But in recent times, no such daring robbery has happened,” We have asked for stricter vigil in the area both at day time and at night,” said Amit Agarwal, a trader.