Shop owner recalls terrifying street robbery
A travel shop owner has told of the terrifying moment he was attacked by three men wielding baseball bats who stole £4,600 from him.
Rajesh Kaushal. aged 41, was attacked outside his car in Smethwick on the night of January 18 after he locked up his shop.
He was approached by a man who hit him over the head with a baseball bat. Two more men also joined in the attack with baseball bats.
Rajesh said he pleaded with the men to stop attacking him and to just take his laptop bag.
Inside was the cash. Rajesh told the Express & Star: “I told them to take the bag but they didn’t (at first) and started beating me. I only saw one the first man with a bat, it was luminous yellow coloured.”
One of the men hit Rajesh so hard the bat broke, he said.
During the attack he was knocked unconscious. When he came back around, he saw the men running off from the car park on Gilbert Street.
Nearby is his firm Hybrid Travel & Tours Limited, in Waterloo Road.
Rajesh sought refuge in a property nearby and then called police.
He was taken to hospital to be treated for his injuries, which included three fractures to his arm, as well as cuts to his head and arm.
Alongside the cash, the robbers also stole his home and office keys, and personal documents.
He fears they will attack him again and hopes they will get caught.
“I don’t know who they are or why they attacked me,” he said. “I don’t have any issues with people in that area.” West Midlands Police has launched an investigation.
A police spokesman said: “Police are investigating after a man is believed to have been attacked with baseball bats during a robbery in Gilbert Road, Smethwick, around 9.30pm on January 18. The victim, aged in his 40s, was approached by up to three men who fled with cash after the assault.
“He was taken to hospital with cuts to his head and hand, and a broken wrist.”
Enquiries are under way and anyone with information is to can contact the force via Live Chat at west-midlands.police.uk, between 8am and midnight.
Information can also be forwarded by calling 101 anytime or contacting Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111, quoting crime reference number 20SW/15196R/19.
