Vineland, New Jersey ,11 December 2011

NRI Gujarati Nitin Thakkar who works as store clerk in his brother-in-law Praful Thakkar’s store in New Jersey faced armed robbery this Monday. Thakkar is safe.

A black male held up J&J News Agency, a popular lottery hub at North Main at Sharp roads on Monday evening.

The store clerk, Nitin Thakkar, who is the brother-in-law of Praful Thakkar, said the suspect entered the business about five minutes before its 7:45 p.m. regular closing.

With his face covered by a mask, the suspect showed a gun and said, “Papi, hurry up, give me the money,” Thakkar said in an interview Tuesday.

The robber rushed Thakkar, telling him he had “two seconds” to comply, he said.

Praful Thakkar also owns Todd’s News Agency on Delsea Drive. He was immediately contacted after the holdup and talked with Nitin Thakkar to make sure he wasn’t harmed.

While there was one gunman, Nitin Thakkar said the robber may have had an accomplice. A few minutes before the holdup, he said, a man walked in, looked around the shop and asked if the store sold bread, before walking out.

Thakkar was back to work Tuesday afternoon, and loyal customers voiced their concerns as they came in to play their regular lottery numbers.

The suspect was described as 5 feet 6 inches to 6 feet tall, with a medium build and full facial hair. He wore a black, hooded sweatshirt with a white emblem on the right side of the chest and on the back. He also was recorded on the store’s video surveillance.

Hardly an hour before in another holdup unfolded at 6:23 p.m., when a white man — believed to be armed with a handgun — confronted an employee at the Acme supermarket courtesy desk in the Maintree Shopping Center.

The suspect, who was caught on a surveillance camera, is about 5 feet 8 inches to 6 feet tall; he has a medium build, and dark brown or black hair. He wore wire-framed eyeglasses and a two-toned coat believed to be gray and blue or black.

The third robbery occurred just after 9:30 p.m. when a black man dressed in black, believed to be armed with a handgun, robbed Carnival Liquors on South Main Road, near Route 55 on the city’s southern edge, police said.

Police said the holdups at the liquor store and news agency robbery may be connected. Police suspect armed robbers struck three Main Road businesses within a roughly three-hour span Monday evening. Investigators are exploring whether two of the crimes are related.

In each case, the suspects made off with an undetermined amount of cash, police said. No one was reported injured during any of the robberies.

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