Jeweller shot dead during robbery at his store in Surat; one culprit apprehended

Surat: Armed robbers shot dead a jeweller and injured another person while looting valuables from a jewellery showroom in Gujarat's Surat city, police said on Tuesday.

While three robbers managed to escape following the incident on Monday night, one was caught by locals after a brief chase and handed over to police, Deputy Superintendent of Police Nirav Gohil said.

Four armed robbers entered Shrinathji Jewellers' showroom in Sachin area at around 8.30 pm, he said.

"The robbers opened fire at showroom owner Ashish Rajpara when he tried to stop them from fleeing with the looted valuables. Rajpara, who was shot twice in his chest, died shortly after being admitted to a hospital," Gohil said.

"When locals started chasing the robbers, the latter opened fire at them. A person named Nazim Shaikh received a bullet injury on his leg," he said.

Following a brief chase, people managed to catch hold of one of the accused while the three others managed to escape.

The nabbed robber was then severely thrashed by locals before being handed over to police, Gohil said, adding the accused is currently under treatment.

To save themselves from the angry mob, the three other robbers left a bag containing valuables near the showroom before fleeing and locals returned it to the shop owner's family, he said.

"It is still unclear if they had only one bag or more. We have formed teams to nab the culprits," the official said.