In a rare case of armed robbery on the national highway, three persons robbed cash, camera and other equipment and a mobile phone from two professional photographers after threatening them at knifepoint near Yelamanchili, about 60 km from here, in the wee hours of Monday.
According to Yelamanchili SI R. Santosh, the photographers — Sagar Babu and Harsha — both residents of Amalapuram in East Godavari district, had come to the city for a pre-wedding shoot on Sunday.
On their way back, they stopped the car in which they were travelling for a while near a petrol bunk close to Yelamanchili.
The photographers were resting in the car when the trio in their early thirties approached them, broke the windshield and forced the duo to part with their valuables, after brandishing knives and other sharp-edged weapons.
‘Could be non-locals’
As per the statement given by the victims, though the gang members communicated in Telugu, their accent was non-local. Police suspect that the miscreants could be highway robbers from Chhattisgarh, Odisha or West Bengal.
“Highway robbery is common in these States and the modus operandi is the same, ” said Mr. Santosh, adding such gangs gangs exist in the Arilova area of the city.
Investigation is on and police are confident that the gang will be nabbed soon.