Three rob trader, flee with loot

Three unidentified men robbed a trader in Nullbazaar, South Mumbai on Thursday morning and opened fired at a man chasing them, injuring him in the process.

At 10 am on Thursday, Pundalik Sawant (48), a trader dealing in motorcycle seats from Kudal in Sindhudurg, was walking towards Bhendi Bazaar on Maulana Azad Road in the Nullbazaar area, when three men approached him from behind and fled with his bag, containing Rs 40,000.

Pundalik raised an alarm and chased them. As they fled under the flyover towards Masjid Bunder, Sanjay Mayekar (42), a local who witnessed the incident, joined the chase.

At Bhandari Street, he managed to grab one of them and seized the bag. However, he lost his balance and fell.

The thief then took a country-made revolver from his pocket and fired at the crowd.

The bullet hit the ground, ricocheted and hit Mayekar in the rear. However, he was saved from serious injury as the bullet brushed past his skin.

He was admitted to J J Hospital, where doctors said he was stable. Meanwhile, the bag which was was recovered Rs 4,200 only.

Inspector Dipak Patil of the JJ Marg police station said, the suspects had fled with the rest of the cash, adding that onlookers did not chase them as they had opened fire. The police are drawing sketches of the suspects based on the statements of Sawant and Mayekar.

CCTV footage from nearby shops is also being examined.

"An FIR has been registered against the trio. They have been booked under Sections 392 (robbery) and 397 (robbery with attempt to cause death or grievous hurt) of the Indian Penal Code. In addition, we have also invoked Section 325 (A) of the Arms Act, 1959 and Section 37 (1) read with Section 135 of the Bombay Police Act, 1951 because the thief produced an unlicenced firearm," Patil said.

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