The robbers were offered to sanitise their hands by the shopkeeper which they duly obliged to before carrying the act.

A jewellery shop in Uttar Pradesh’s Aligarh city was looted by three armed men who were caught on camera entering the store following all coronavirus protocols before carrying out the crime.

In Aligarh , then men rob a jewellery shop following full ‘covid protocol’ – walk in wearing masks , get hands sanitised and then whip out a gun and rob the establishment ! @aligarhpolice have promised swift action … pic.twitter.com/hTOREmEg2W

— Alok Pandey (@alok_pandey) September 11, 2020

The CCTV footage shows masked robbers entering ‘Sunder Jewellers’ near Sarasol crossing in Bannadevi area. The shopkeeper can then be seen offering them sanitiser, which they duly oblige. Subsequently, one of the robbers pulls out a country-made pistol and points it toward the shopkeepers and other customers in the shop as his accomplices start dumping valuables in a bag. The customers, visibly stunned by the sudden turn of events, are seen sitting quietly.

In the video, one of the accused is also seen jumping over the counter to collect wads of currency notes from near a safe.

According to the police, the robbers escaped with jewellery and cash worth Rs 36.5 lakh. They fled the scene with the stolen items before an alarm could be raised, local residents said. “The miscreants looted jewellery worth about Rs 36 lakh and Rs 50,000 in cash,” a police official was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.

SSP Muniraj G told reporters that a special team had been constituted, including two officers of the rank of SP and a manhunt had been launched to catch hold of the people involved in the act. The SSP added that CCTV footage had captured the entire crime and police were hopeful of nabbing the criminals shortly.

(Inputs from PTI)