Pune: A fearless resistance by a 12-year-old girl and her parents foiled a robbery attempt of an armed thief at their house in Shirur around 4am on Friday.An officer from Pune Rural police said the incident happened when Umesh Chajed (45), a pharmacist, had just left his home to walk his dog. He noticed someone entering his house and immediately returned.“He saw an unknown man in his kitchen and rushed to nab him. During the scuffle, the robber took out a firearm and opened fire with a round. The bullet bounced from the ground and brushed against Chajed’s left leg,” the officer said.He said that after hearing the commotion, Chajed’s wife, daughter Manavi and his parents ran towards the kitchen. Chajed caught hold of the accused, but the gunshot prompted him to release his grip. As soon as the accused was released from the grip, Manavi and her mother tried to apprehend the robber, the officer said, adding that Manavi started hitting the accused and raised an alarm. The accused attempted to fire another round, but the firearm misfired.“The accused removed his shirt to loosen her grip, pushed Manavi and fled,” the officer said, adding that Manavi sustained bruises to her hand.Inspector Vinod Patil of Shirur police said no item was reported stolen from the house. The police recovered an empty cartridge from the spot.“We have recovered CCTV footage from various locations. This footage showed that the accused had been conducting a reconnaissance of the house since 2.30am. Our four teams are deployed to trace the thief,” Patil said.
