Surat: In a bizarre turn of events, two men allegedly attempting to burglarise a jewellery shop in Sanjan, Valsad, ended up calling the police themselves after residents locked them inside the shop.The duo were rescued by a 112 response team in the early hours of Wednesday and arrested later.The accused were identified as Dinesh alias Chandrashankar alias Santosh Sonkar (32), currently living in Boisar East, and Vipin alias Gaurav Pathak (27), a resident of Nalasopara East. Both are from Palghar district in Maharashtra and natives of Uttar Pradesh, police said.According to the investigation, the duo travelled by train from Palghar to Umargam before reaching the market area in Sanjan, where they allegedly targeted B J Jewellers. Around 2am, they began cutting the shop’s shutter lock with a cutter, reportedly stepping away every few minutes to avoid attracting attention.Their plan unravelled after a power outage in the area prompted greater vigilance. A friend of jeweller Manish Sharma, who lives near the shop, woke up and spotted the two men tampering with the shutter. He alerted Sharma and rushed towards the shop, but by then the duo had managed to enter.The resident then pulled down the shutter and called for help. As more residents gathered outside, the accused, fearing they would be assaulted, dialled the police emergency number 112 themselves.Police said the duo told officers they were familiar with the 112 helpline in Palghar and had used the same number after getting trapped inside the shop in Gujarat.A 112 response team reached the spot and took both men into custody before the situation could escalate.“The resident closed the shutter and called for help. His timely action helped police catch the accused,” said H D Tuvar, police inspector at Umargam police station.
