Heist at Singur wire factory, 2 stabbed

Express News Service Posted: May 29, 2008 at 0131 hrs
Kolkata, May 28 A wire manufacturing factory in Singur was targetted by armed robbers on Tuesday night. They fled with copper worth Rs 16 lakh, stabbing two employees of Ratan Wire Machine Industry who tried to resist.

A complaint has been lodged at the Singur police station but no one has been arrested yet.

Kalyan Mukherjee, sub-divisional police officer (SDPO), Chandernagore, said the robbers came in a truck which they had parked in front of the factory, located beside the Durgapore Expressway near Ghanashyampur in Singur. They broke down the factory’s gate around 1 am, overpowered the security guard, and went inside. “Nearly 30 employees were working at the time. They threatened them with dire consequences if they raised an alarm. One of them, who tried to contact the police from his cellphone, was beaten up,” said Mukherjee.

The robbers looted 3.5 tons of copper. Loading it in the truck, they sped away towards Dankuni. An employee of the factory called up the police around 5 am.

The stolen gun of the factory’s security guard was later found in a bush. The two injured employees were rushed to a neighbouring hospital.

“The owner of the factory, who resides in Gariahat, was informed of the heist this morning. We are investigating,” said Mukherjee.