HYDERABAD, Oct 17: Around one dozen persons were deprived of cash and cellphones late Thursday night in the jurisdiction of the Cantonment police station.

Witnesses said that two armed bandits riding a motorcycle robbed a group of friends near former Chandni Cinema of their cellphones and cash.

“Both the gangsters appeared to be drunk. They were armed and deprived us one by one of cash and mobile phones,” said Nazeer Hussain Zaidi, who reported the matter to the Cantonment police station.

No FIR has so far been lodged and only a non-cognisable offence report is registered by the police. The relevant SHO was not available to ascertain the reasons for not registering an FIR.

Zaidi said that he was deprived of his two cellphones and Rs6,970, his friends Tahir Ali Beg of Rs900 and an expensive cell phone, Manan Rs10,000 and a cellphone.

He said that three persons who were sitting in an Alto car near Abdullah centres were also deprived of their mobile phones but they didn’t report the matter to the police.

The bandits, reportedly, headed towards a locality just yards away from the Cantonment police station and snatched mobile phones from Shahnawaz Solangi and Shakeel Ghauri.

“When they tried to snatch my cash, I resisted and someone from inside shop came outside. The gangsters got panicky and fled,” said Solangi.

The robbers deprived another person of cash, which he had withdrawn from an automated teller machine (ATM) of a private bank moments ago. The two bandits also snatched cellphones of two other persons and swiftly fled.

Cantonment police just noted details of the incident and didn’t lodge any formal FIR till the filing of this report.