A 20-year-old man was nearly lynched by residents of Anyah Last Stop in Accra for allegedly snatching the wedding ring of a businessman at gunpoint at dawn yesterday.
[contextly_sidebar id=”hL5kXsK3jK0PaeiNuwFBCuxRpn5cjoSF”]Ishmael Ali, a second-hand phones dealer at the Kwame Nkrumah Circle and resident of Tabora, is said to have attacked the businessman, who lives in the area, while he was returning home from work at about 3:30 a.m.
But for the timely intervention of the Anyah Police, Ali would have been lynched by residents of the area who responded to the victim’s cries for help.
His accomplice (name withheld for technical reasons), a trader living at Sowutuom, escaped before the angry youth could lay hands on him.
Hot chase
Speaking to the Daily Graphic, the Odorkor District Commander, Chief Superintendent of Police Mr Abraham Acquaye, said the youth gave Ali a hot chase after he had scaled over the walls of two houses in an attempt to escape the wrath of the people.
The youth, he said, beat up Ali when they were told by the victim that the suspect and his accomplice had snatched his phone, collected his wallet which contained GH¢15 and his wedding ring, after Ali had threatened him with a gun and a knife.
Later, Mr Acquaye said, Ali was found wearing the victim’s wedding ring on one of his fingers while he was being beaten by the residents.
According to him, after rescuing Ali, the police took the suspect, who was injured, to the Police Hospital in Accra.
He said in recent times, residents of the Anyah area had been reporting of the snatching of their phones at gunpoint.
He said the police had, as a result, intensified patrols in the area to apprehend the culprits.
“I want to urge the residents to assist us with information. The two men could be the persons behind the crime and so we hope this arrest will bring the situation under control,” he said.
Mr Acquaye said the police had mounted a search for Ali’s accomplice, even though Ali wouldn’t give his name.
Source: Graphic Online