MUMBAI: When armed robbers entered his jewellery store in Kandivali late on Wednesday, jeweller Jalaram Devasi did not hesitate for a second.
He picked up a bamboo stick lying near the counter and whacked the men on their hands, causing them to flee. Police, while commending the jeweller for his quick thinking, are now looking for the robbers.
“I did not want to give up without a fight,” said Devasi, who is in his forties.
He runs Jai Bhavani Jewellers, a small establishment in a bylane of Kandivali’s Poisar for the past four years. This was the first time his shop was targeted by robbers.
Around 9.20 pm on Wednesday, Devasi was at the counter chatting with a guest. A store employee was going about his work. Suddenly, two masked men barged in. “One of them was wielding a knife while another had a countrymade revolver.
A third associate stood guard outside the shop,” Devasi said. “Maal do,” the robbers said in Hindi, referring to gold ornaments arranged in the display counters.
Devasi moved and picked up a bamboo stick. “I had bought the stick during a trip to Ujjain a few years ago. For some reason, I thought it would keep me safe and I’ve always kept it in my shop,” Devasi said.
On Wednesday night, he whacked the two armed robbers with the stick. They took to their heels with their third associate. Police said CCTVs in the neighbourhood captured the trio running towards the Poisar subway. Jalaram called up his brother, Jagdish, who rushed to the shop.
They then informed the Borivali police.
“The store’s CCTVs were unable to record the incident, probably due to a glitch in their functioning. We are studying footage from other cameras in the neighbourhood to track down the robbers,” said a senior police officer. A case of attempted robbery has been registered by Borivali police.