Tobacco wholesaler robbed of Rs4 lakh in Samastipur

Patna: Three masked robbers stormed into the office of a tobacco wholesaler agency in Samastipur district and decamped with Rs4.5 lakh and a laptop on Monday. The armed assailants held the owner hostage and threatened his brother with a pistol to open the cash counter and committed the robbery.According to police, the robbery took place at the agency office located in Bahadurpur Model High School Colony under Town police station. The robbers, who arrived on a motorcycle, entered the office one-by-one and took the occupants hostage. One of them confined the owner, Rahul, in a room, while another threatened his brother, Ankit, at gunpoint to open the cash counter. The third robber collected the cash and locked the main door while escaping.Rahul said three armed men entered the office moments after a vendor had dropped off collection money. “The criminals pushed me aside and pointed a pistol at my younger brother Ankit. There were 12 of us in the office at the time, and everyone was terrified. There were Rs2.5 lakh in the cash counter and Rs2 lakh of collection money. They took everything. They had covered their faces, so we couldn’t identify them,” he said.

On receiving information, Town police, along with the forensic team and the district intelligence unit, reached the spot and questioned the agency owner. “Three persons were involved in the robbery. The agency owner has reported a loss of Rs4.5 lakh. The incident, captured on CCTV cameras installed outside the agency office, shows the robbers wearing helmets and face covers. Police have seized the footage and are reviewing it to identify the culprits.

Raids are underway to arrest the criminals,” said Samastipur SP Arvind Pratap Singh.