Rampur: Three Held for Posing as Income Tax Officers to Rob Jeweller:

Five men posing as Income Tax Department officers tried to rob a bullion trader of gold and silver jewellery worth lakhs of rupees at his shop in Gopalapur Purani Bazaar under the Rampur police station area on Sunday. However, the alertness of the trader and his wife foiled their plan. After the couple raised an alarm, local people caught three of the accused, while two managed to escape. Police recovered a Bolero SUV with a fake number plate from the suspects.

According to trader Dinesh Baranwal, the five men arrived at his shop around 3 pm in a Bolero. They introduced themselves as Income Tax officers, showed fake identity cards and started searching the shop. They then took out gold and silver jewellery from a locker and put it into a bag. When Baranwal and his wife objected, the accused allegedly assaulted them.

The accused also took away the trader's licensed revolver. The couple became suspicious and started shouting for help. On hearing the commotion, nearby shopkeepers and villagers rushed to the shop. As the crowd gathered, two of the accused escaped on foot, while three others were caught by the crowd.

The villagers handed over the three accused and the Bolero vehicle to the police. During the investigation, police found that the vehicle's registration number actually belonged to a motorcycle. Officers have recovered the jewellery, fake identity cards and other documents from the accused and are examining them.

Following the incident, several traders gathered at the Rampur police station and demanded strict action against the accused. Station House Officer Ramesh Kumar said the three detained men are being questioned.

Circle Officer (CO) Vijay Chaudhary said the five accused had come to the jeweller's shop with the intention of committing robbery. He said three suspects have been detained, of whom two are from Jaunpur and one is from Varanasi. Police are searching for the two absconding accused and are investigating the case based on the complaint given by the businessman. No FIR had been registered till the time of reporting.