Mumbai:
A thief lifted a bag from a car near the Bombay high court on Wednesday, but lost his nerve when he found it contained a revolver. Not wanting to court trouble, the scared robber dumped the bag near Sterling Cinema in Fort and fled. But the story did not end there, as the abandoned bag created a bomb scare and the police had to rush to the spot and trace its owner.
According to the Azad Maidan police, the incident occurred in the afternoon when Nashik-based Avinash Chaudhary was in the high court area on a business trip. "Chaudhary had parked his vehicle near the Bank of India parking lot, and left for his work. He had kept his bag in the car, with a driver to guard it," said assistant commissioner of police, Iqbal Shaikh.
He added that a few minutes later, a man approached Chaudhary's vehicle and started talking to his driver. "He diverted the attention of the driver, snatched the bag, and fled. On realising the bag was missing, the driver approached the policemen on duty near the court," he said.
The police said that the thief ran towards the Sterling Cinema area. "He must have opened the bag and would have got scared after seeing a revolver," said another police official.
Meanwhile, after people near the cinema saw the bag lying abandoned for long, it created a bomb scare and the police control room was alerted. With the high court already on high alert, a bomb detection and disposal squad and a dog squad reached the spot and inspected the bag.
"It contained a revolver, licenced in the name of Avinash Chaudhary, a native of Chalisgaon in Nashik. Chaudhary was contacted on the number stated in the licence. Chaudhary was in the process of lodging a police complaint when he was contacted," said the official.
He added that Chaudhary has claimed that there was Rs1.5lakh cash kept in the bag, which has been missing after the bag was found.
"Prima facie, there is nothing suspicious, but he is being questioned thoroughly," said deputy commissioner of police, Zone I, Cherring Dorje.
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