A horrific daylight robbery turned fatal in Ghaziabad's Modinagar area on Thursday morning, where a 75-year-old jewellery shop owner was stabbed to death inside his own store. The assailant, who was later caught by local residents, executed a brutal attack that lasted less than a minute, all captured on CCTV.
Brutal Attack in Broad Daylight
The incident occurred shortly after 8:30 am in the Govindpuri colony. The victim, Girdhari Lal, proprietor of Girdhari Lal & Sons Jewellery, had just opened the ground-floor shop located at his residence. According to police, the accused, Ankit Gupta (22), entered the shop moments after it opened. Wearing a monkey cap, he first threw a fistful of red chilli powder into Lal's face. Before the elderly jeweller could react, Gupta climbed onto the counter and stabbed and slashed him more than 10 times with a knife, killing him within seconds.
The entire assault was recorded by the shop's CCTV camera. The footage, retrieved by police, shows the chilling precision of the attack. Lal's son, Rupendra Soni, heard his father's screams and rushed to the shop. He tried to restrain the attacker and even hurled him onto a bench. However, Gupta brandished what appeared to be a gun—later found to be a toy—and managed to escape from Soni's grip.
Chase and Capture by Local Residents
As Soni chased the fleeing assailant, local shopkeepers responded to the commotion. In a display of public vigilance, they captured Ankit Gupta roughly 25-30 metres from the crime scene after a brief chase. The crowd reportedly beat him before handing him over to the police from the Modinagar police station, which is located just about 200 metres away from the shop.
Police investigations revealed that Gupta, a former bike taxi rider who lived in the same area until his family moved a month ago, was under severe financial stress. He had allegedly lost around Rs 20 lakh in shares and online gaming. Knowing that Lal was well-off and owned three other jewellery shops, Gupta allegedly planned the robbery for about a week. He recced the Govindpuri shop and timed his attack for the early morning hours when Lal opened his shop before others and there were few customers or shopkeepers around.
Detailed Planning and Public Outrage
ACP Modinagar Amit Saxena stated that preliminary investigation indicated Gupta targeted the shop with the intention to steal jewellery. "He had planned the robbery around a week in advance. After attacking Lal, he had planned to grab the jewellery on display in a bag that he was carrying. It seems he hadn't anticipated that Soni or anyone would arrive so quickly," Saxena said. Police confirmed the recovery of the toy gun from Gupta.
DCP (Rural) Surendra Nath Tiwari confirmed Gupta's detention and ongoing questioning. Police disclosed alarming details about the accused's preparation. Gupta had bought the knife online and received it only on Wednesday. In the five days leading to the crime, he allegedly watched more than 25 heist videos on YouTube to plan the robbery. He also claimed to run a YouTube channel named 'Desire Telefilms' with 6,25,000 subscribers.
The murder sparked immediate outrage in the local market. Many shopkeepers shut their shops in protest, accusing the police of failing to maintain law and order. A local shopkeeper, Sudheer Singh, voiced the community's anger: "The police chowki is just 200m away, yet patrolling is rare. A robbery attempt at Lal's shop happened two years ago, and the culprits were never caught. Even recent thefts in nearby shops are unresolved."
In response, DCP Tiwari assured that additional police forces had been deployed and security measures in the area would be reviewed. He confirmed a dedicated team would remain stationed in the market to prevent future incidents and increase patrolling. The process of registering an FIR was underway at the time of reporting.
