Shop worker chases robber from British shop

LONDON - A South Asian youth became so angry when an armed man tried to rob a British shop that he charged at him with a steering wheel lock, forcing the robber to flee. He later said: “If you’re clever enough to work out how to rob a shop then you’re clever enough to work.”

Dipankar Mallick, 29, grabbed the 18-inch metal clamp and showed it to the robber. He then chased knife-wielding man out of the Costcutter corner shop and down the street.

“I was in charge of the shop so it was my responsibility to protect it. The guy didn’t say anything and just handed over a list saying he had a knife…I reached for the clamp. I told him, ‘I’ve got this’ and as soon as he saw it he ran off,” The Sun Tuesday quoted Mallick of Aberdeen as saying.

“If it (the clamp) hadn’t been there I don’t know what I would have done. It would have made things a lot harder.”

He said the attack had left him angry.

“I have to work hard to earn a living. So it makes me mad that someone wants to take the easy option and try to steal from me.

“If you’re clever enough to work out how to rob a shop then you’re clever enough to work. It is not acceptable to try to steal.”

Mallick said he took the job after failing to get work after graduating last year with a business degree from Robert Gordon University.

Local councillor Bill Cormie said: “It’s very courageous of this young man to defend the shop and take the steps he did. It’s a horrid thing to happen. At that time of day on a Sunday it’s frightening.”