'I was scared but ... ': Thane jeweller uses stick to fight off four robbers armed with guns

THANE: A jeweller from Balkum locality in Thane thwarted an armed robbery attempt when four men, brandishing firearms, tried to rob jewellery from his shop. With a wooden stick, he fended them off, chased them, and pinned down one who was later arrested.
The arrested accused has been identified as Manoj Kumar, alias Aditya Baburam, 24, a resident of Kalwa.The others are Sachin Rawat, Kallu Afrooz, and Sonu Khan.
The incident took place around 11.30 am Wednesday when the assailants - two each on two bikes, wearing helmets - entered Darshan Jewellers in Balkum Pada 2.
However, the jeweller refused to be intimidated. Speaking to TOI, the jeweller, Suresh Jain, said, "When I saw them coming, I felt something was not right as the customers walked in with helmets on. When one of them pointed a revolver at me, I was scared. But in that moment, I knew that if I didn't confront them, I would have to regret it later. So, I grabbed the wooden log that I've kept for safety for a long time, anticipating such an incident, and I used this stick to drive them away. As I followed them, one of them fired a round, but I ducked."
Three of them fled on a bike from one side while another one fired a shot into the air outside the shop at the jeweller. Despite the gunfire, the jeweller managed to hold his ground. As the robbers fled, one of them holding a knife was pinned down by the jeweller and later handed over to the police, while the other three escaped.
The police have launched a manhunt to nab the three suspects. It was also revealed that one of the accused brandished a knife at an onlooker who tried to intervene during the incident.
The police said that the accused had been residing at a specific spot for the past couple of weeks and they might have carried out a recce of the shop before moving in on Wednesday.
"Things will be more clear once the other accused are nabbed. Efforts are being made to nab them," said a police officer.