Noida: Lawyer shot in the neck as he thwarts jewellery store robbery

GREATER NOIDA: A 24-year-old lawyer survived a critical bullet injury in his neck after he intercepted four burglars trying to break into a jewellery store in Bisrakh in the early hours of Saturday. Police have launched a probe.
The lawyer has been identified as Monu Sharma, a resident of Jalalpur village in Bisrakh, where he lives with his family.

While the family lives on the first floor, a relative runs a jewellery shop on the ground floor of the building. Monu is practising law at the district sessions court in Surajpur.

The family said the burglars were trying to break the lock of the store’s shutters around 1am on Saturday. The sound woke them up.

“We heard sounds of some people fiddling with the shutters of the jewellery store, which is owned by an uncle. I came out to the balcony and saw four people trying to break into the store. I immediately woke my brother up and saw that my father had already hurried to the main gate,” said Sonu, Monu’s brother.

“My father shouted at the thieves while we rushed to nab them. One of them shot Monu in the neck, and they all fled. We immediately rushed my brother to Kailash Hospital in Noida and alerted police. He had to undergo a surgery to have the bullet extracted,” he added.

Monu has been admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) of Kailash Hospital and is undergoing treatment. His condition is reported to be stable.

Cops said the family identified two of the burglars as labourers working at a nearby construction site, Shankar and Roop Kishore. The suspects were detained on Sunday. The whole incident was recorded on CCTV cameras installed in the shop. “CCTV footage is being checked, but the faces of the assailants are not clear in it,” Sonu said.

“We received information of the shooting at around 1.30am. The family said the assailants were from a local construction site, and they filed a police complaint against the duo on Saturday. On the basis of their complaint, we have lodged an FIR under Section 307 (attempt to murder) of IPC against the criminals,” said Manoj Kumar Pathak, SHO of Bisrakh police station.

The SHO, however, said the suspects but don’t seem to be the same men who attacked Monu. “The accused have been detained for questioning. They said they weren’t present at the spot and that the victims mistook the burglars for them. We’re investigating the matter,” said Pathak.