Crime & Punishment of Monday, 16 May 2016

Source: GNA

One shot dead, another injured in a robbery

File photo File photo

One person was shot dead, while another sustained serious gunshot wounds in a robbery attack on the Bolgatanga-Navrongo Highway.

The incident occurred at about 0200 hours at the junction of the Bolgatanga High Court. The victims were among three occupants of a DAF articulated truck en route from Kumasi to neighbouring Burkina Faso.

Narrating the incident to the GNA, Mr Francis Osei, one of the driver’s mates, who survived the robbery, said after driving for long hours, they decided to park for a while to rest and continue the journey the next day.

He said the truck, with registration number 11 HL 4886, was parked along the road when two unidentified men wielding short guns approached them and requested them to produce their belongings or risk losing their lives.

He said they were, subsequently, asked to lie on the floor but the deceased, whose name was given as Baba Taller, declined.

He said after refusing to heed to their request, Taller engaged the robbers in a hot verbal exchange, demanding an explanation as to why they should produce their belongings.

One of the robbers, he said, then pulled the trigger and killed Taller on the spot.

The driver, sensing danger, decided to retaliate but he was overpowered by the robbers who shot him.

The robbers then sped off on a motorbike after robbing them of their monies and mobile phones.

The lifeless body of Taller had been covered with a cloth at the time the GNA got to the scene.

The driver, who is said to be in a critical condition, is currently on admission at the Bolgatanga Regional Hospital.

Meanwhile, the Regional Police Command, is carrying out thorough investigations to enable them to arrest the robbers.

Some residents who spoke to the GNA on condition of anonymity, expressed dismay about the robbery and called on the Police to intensify their highway patrol to save road users from such attacks.