Mumbai: In broad daylight, a builder Sunil Patil was robbed of 55 tolas (unit) of gold and Rs 65,000 in cash at gunpoint from his office in Kamothe. The robbery took place at Patil’s office, named Surya Patil Builders and Developers. A case of robbery has been registered in Kamothe police station.
The office of the victim is situated Sector 11 near JCI Kamothe Edso Road at Kamothe in Navi Mumbai. The police had warned Patil, who had been working in the office for the past five years, to install a closed circuit television (CCTV) camera some months ago. Despite the warnings, Patil failed follow through.
The three robbers entered the builder’s office at 1.30 pm on Monday on the pretext of looking for a flat in the vicinity. The accused, posing as prospective buyers, carried out a recce of the office. One of the accused later pulled out a gun, pointing it towards Patil. The latter tried to resist the men, who were demanding his jewellery, but he was forced to fork over his valuables and cash.
While investigating the case, the Kamothe police found that no CCTV camera was fitted in the office.
When The Asian Age spoke to senior police inspector Ashok Naik, he said, “The robbers entered the office posing as buyers and pulled off the heist. Despite asking Patil to fit a CCTV camera in his office, he failed to do so”.
Mr Naik further added, “We are looking for any other CCTV footage, if available, in the vicinity to identify the robbers”.
