Man robs petrol pump in Durgapur, shoots employee

A local man robbed a petrol pump at Durgapur’s Coke Oven area and shot dead one of its employees late Sunday night.

Dipak Shaw, the gun-toting robber, made no effort to hide his face and barged into the pump targeting the security person and staff there. He asked them to duck down while he looted the cash from the locker.

A staff at the petrol pump attempted to stop Shaw. Madan Chauhan, the oil tanker driver working at the pump, caught Shaw from behind, but was overpowered by the robber. Shaw shot him in the chest from point black range. The bullet went through Chauhan’s chest, who succumbed to his injury.

Eyewitnesses said Shaw took the cash in a polyphone bag and sped away on his motorcycle.

Police have started an investigation but yet to get any substantial lead. “He was a known criminal. Recently, he had got bail in a case and returned to his residence. The owner of the pump said that he was being threatened for a while to give extortion money. But he refused to agree to Shaw’s demands,” said an investigating officer.

Omprakash Yadav, the owner of the petrol pump, lodged a complaint with the Coke Oven police station. “I am feeling helpless. He is a known criminal and could attack again,” he said.

Shootouts, drive-by shootings, day light burglaries have become common in some areas of Durgapur.

It may be recalled that some robbers had recently beaten up two employees of a jewellery shop and looted gold ornaments worth Rs 30 lakh in Durgapur a few weeks ago. The robbers also damaged CCTV cameras at the shop.

Police called forensic experts to collect fingerprints at the shop to find clues about the robbers. Raja Majumder and Samar Hazra, two employees at the shop were asleep at night when the dacoits barged in.

They tied the employees with light poles, before beating them up severely. The case is still unsolved.