Offering lift to strangers cost a Raikot resident dear as the miscreants pushed him out of his car and drove away with it in the wee hours of Wednesday. He had to walk nearly 2km to reach the police station for lodging an FIR.
The victim has been identified as Gurmeet Singh, 40, of Tajpur Road, Raikot. He is the son-in-law of Raikot Mahila Congress president Balwinder Kaur.
Gurmeet told the police that he had come to Ludhiana for the service of his car. However, due to the night curfew, he decided to stay in the city. He parked his car outside a taxi stand near the bus stand. At around 2am, two men posing as farm labourers knocked on his windowpane and said they were in urgent need to reach Ahmadgarh and pleaded Gurmeet to take them.
Gurmeet agreed and the men sat in the car. As they had moved only a few meters, three more men standing on the road asked for lift. The first two accused then told Gurmeet that they were also farm labourers and insisted him to allow them to sit in the car.
The victim added that when they reached near Jagrera Road near Pohir, two of the accused asked him to stop for a while saying they were feeling nauseated.
{{/usCountry}}The victim added that when they reached near Jagrera Road near Pohir, two of the accused asked him to stop for a while saying they were feeling nauseated.
{{/usCountry}}“I stopped the car on the roadside and two accused came out to vomit. However, the other three miscreants overpowered me and pushed me out of the car. After this, all five fled with my car, which had my mobile phone and wallet too,” said Gurmeet.
He added, “I reached Ahmedgarh police station after walking for 2km, but the cops there asked me to go to Dehlon police station for lodging the FIR, as the crime spot lied in the latter’s jurisdiction. The cops also denied me a cellphone to call my family, and blanket, so I waited till the morning. I went to a gurdwara and borrowed a phone from a devotee and informed my family.”
When he finally got to Dehlon police station and lodged an FIR, the police scanned the CCTVs and traced the car, which had crossed Raikot around 3am. If the Ahmadgarh police would have taken timely action, the accused could have been caught.
ASI Baljeet Singh said a case has been registered against the unidentified accused under sections 379-B and 34 of the IPC. A hunt is on for the arrest of the accused.