Hyderabad robbery case: 16 months on, Afzalgunj shooters still at large

Nearly 16 months after a travel agency manager was shot in Afzalgunj, the accused remain absconding. Despite multi-state searches, police suspect they fled to Nepal. Meanwhile, similar robbery incidents continue to raise concerns over public safety in Hyderabad.

Hyderabad: It’s been almost 16 months since two robbers fired and injured a manager of a travel agency at Afzalgunj in full public view, but there is no trace of their whereabouts, and forget the police have so far failed to nab them.

On January 16 last year, two robbers had boarded a private travel bus at Afzalgunj, and when a manager tried to check their baggage, one of the suspects fired and injured the manager. The duo had earlier in the day looted a cash van in Bidar when it stopped to replenish cash in an ATM centre.

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Teams of the Telangana and Karnataka police had visited several places in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar to nab the robbers; however, the police could not apprehend them. The criminals were identified as Amit and Manish. The police came to know the duo had crossed over the international border and were suspected of hiding in Nepal.

Robbers are not something new to the city. On January 31 this year, two armed men fired and injured a businessman at an SBI ATM centre at Koti when the latter came to deposit money early in the morning.

The victim, who is a native of Karnataka, had come to the city to purchase some clothes for his store. He went to the ATM centre when the two robbers, who were waiting for an opportunity, spotted him and approached him. When the businessman resisted their attempt to snatch the bag, they opened fire on his leg and forcefully took away the bag. Three people were later arrested by the Hyderabad police.

In another incident, in August 2025, a gang entered the Khazana Jewellers store at Chandanagar and robbed gold ornaments after firing in the store, leading to injury to a salesman. The Cyberabad police later nabbed five robbers who were involved in the case and invoked PD Act against them.