BENGALURU: A knife-wielding robber stormed into a shoe and bag repair shop in Indiranagar, threatened to kill a woman employee, attacked her and snatched her gold mangalya chain worth Rs 4.5 lakh in a daring daylight robbery on Oct 31.The accused, identified as Prabhuraj alias Raj, 40, had covered his head and face with a helmet and wore gloves. He also attacked the shop owner when he and members of the public tried to catch him before fleeing with the stolen chain.According to the complaint filed by Jayashree S, 23, a resident of Domlur, she has been working as a receptionist at Premium Shoe & Bag Repair on 100 Feet Road in Indiranagar for the past three years. The shop is owned by Ranjith Kumar. Her duties include receiving shoes and bags brought in by customers for repairs, issuing receipts and handing over the items to the workshop. She usually manages the shop’s daily operations on her own.On Oct 31, Jayashree arrived at the shop around 10am and opened it for the day’s work. Around 11.45am, an unidentified man wearing a helmet and gloves entered the shop. He suddenly jumped over the reception counter, where she was seated, and told her that someone was coming to kill him, warning her not to scream.Frightened, Jayashree tried to call Ranjith. However, Prabhuraj forcibly made her sit down, covered her mouth with his hands and pulled out a knife from his bag. He threatened to kill her if she raised an alarm and attacked her on the neck and hands with the knife.He then applied Fevikwik glue to both her hands to stick them to the desk and stuffed a piece of cloth lying on the desk into her mouth. He forcibly removed her gold mangalya chain, weighing around 35 grams and worth around Rs 4.5 lakh, from her neck and kept it in his pocket.When Prabhuraj attempted to flee, Jayashree managed to free her hands and screamed for help. Hearing her cries, members of the public rushed towards the shop. The accused then grabbed her by the hair, dragged her back inside and held a knife to her neck, warning those outside not to stop him.By then, Ranjith and others had reached the spot and tried to overpower him. Prabhuraj brandished the knife at them and attacked Ranjith before pulling Jayashree out of the shop and attempting to escape with the stolen chain.Members of the public and traffic police personnel present nearby chased the accused and caught him. Based on Jayashree’s complaint, Indiranagar police registered a case under Section 309 (robbery) and arrested Prabhuraj.Deputy Commissioner of Police (East) Vikram Amathe said the woman was safe and had not sustained any injuries. He added that the accused appeared to be mentally disturbed and depressed. Police are verifying his background.
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