Couple shot dead in a failed robbery bid in Punjab

In a robbery bid gone awry, three unidentified men fatally shot a financer and his wife at their house in Durgi locality here today, police said.
Two of the miscreants barged into the couple's (Sunil Gupta, 49, and Neelam Gupta, 45) house, while the other waited downstairs with a motorcycle, they said.
"The armed robbers asked Sunil to hand them over the cash and the jewellery. After he refused to oblige, they tried to break open the almirah when Sunil intervened," said Deputy Commissioner of Police Dhruman Nimble.
"One of the accused then fired at Sunil from a close range and as Neelam rushed towards Sunil, he shot her too. The couple died on the spot," said Nimble.

Upon hearing the gunshots, a crowd gathered outside the house.
"One of the accused, in an attempt to flee the crowd, jumped from the first floor and got his legs fractured," he said.

"People caught hold of him while his accomplices managed to escape on the bike," the DCP said.
The nabbed accused has been identified as Sandeep Kumar, who was working as a ward boy in the district hospital here, police said.
Police have filed a case under relevant sections of the IPC and started an investigation, they said.