Mumbai police QRT armourer fired at 2 persons in Thane in robbery bid

An armourer with the Mumbai police's Quick Response Team who was detained for allegedly firing at two people in Thane committed the offence with the motive of robbery and he was facing a debt of nearly Rs 40 lakh.

Motorcycle-borne cousins Aziz Sayyed and Firoze Sheikh were injured when a masked man fired at them near Mainde village in Maharashtra’s Thane district neighbouring Mumbai on October 13. The attacker then from the spot.

Suraj Devram Dokre, a QRT armourer with the Mumbai police, was later detained in the Ahmednagar district's vicinity of the Kolhar bus terminal (he is 37). According to police, he was charged with attempted murder as well as other crimes under the Indian Penal Code and the Arms Act.

A preliminary probe after the spot inspection revealed the motive behind the firing was robbery, a release from the district rural police said. The accused was under a debt of Rs 40 to Rs 42 lakh, taken from various banks and lending institutions. As he had to repay the loans, he was in need of money and hence he resorted to robbery, the release said.

It was revealed that he had earlier also visited Bhiwandi and Ambadi in Thane on two occasions. The police were trying to find out if he had resorted to such an act earlier also. The police have seized the pistol used by the accused for firing, the release said.