TEAM HERALD
teamherald@herald-goa.com
MARGAO: Three armed robbers robbed the Chinchinim branch of Kamakshi Forex money exchange after attacking a lone employee in broad daylight on Tuesday.
The robbers escaped with booty of Rs 9.5 lakh ~ consisting of Indian currency amounting to Rs five lakh, besides 5000 US dollars and 300 Pounds and two laptops.
The branch located along the main Assolna-Chinchinim road in the Chinchinim market right opposite the football ground was robbed at around 3.10 pm, moments after the lone employee Jeetendra Lotlikar opened the office after lunch break.
The trio followed Jeetendra inside the office and approached him on the pretext of exchanging 10 dollars. While the employee was making an entry in the computer, one of the assailants covered his head with a jacket/cloth and attacked him with a weapon, before lifting away the booty.
Injured Lotlikar was left in a pool of blood before he was rushed to the Apollo Victor hospital at Margao, where he was treated for head injuries. He was shifted in a room later in the evening and is under observation.
One of the assailants, the police said, had visited the foreign currency exchange shop a couple of days ago and had exchanged 20 dollars. Police suspect that he might have played a lead role in surveying the premises before committing the offense.
Margao Sub-divisional Police Officer, DySP Mohan Naik, said the incident occurred no sooner the office was opened by the employee after lunch break. “The assailants appear to have taken advantage of the afternoon time when there’s hardly any movement at the site of the incident. We have found no weapon inside the office. Probably, the assailants might have carried a weapon with them,” DySP Naik said. The foreign currency outlet had no surveillance cameras, sources said.
Cuncolim PI Raju Raut Dessai, who was at the Margao police headquarters attending a meeting, first rushed to Apollo Victor Hospital and recorded the victim’s statement.
DySP Naik said the police have started investigations into the robbery, adding that the police will not leave any efforts unturned to detect the case.
