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ASI’s son among five held for snatching PAU scientist’s car in Ludhiana
Two days after a group of miscreants snatched a Punjab Agriculture University (PAU) scientist, the Sarabha Nagar police on Monday arrested five accused, including the son of an assistant sub-inspector (ASI)
Two days after a group of miscreants snatched a Punjab Agriculture University (PAU) scientist, the Sarabha Nagar police on Monday arrested five accused, including the son of an assistant sub-inspector (ASI).
The arrested accused, all aged between 20-22 years have been identified as Kuldeep Singh of Nanak Nagar, Karanvir Singh of Kitchlu Nagar, Tushar Bhatia of Durgapuri, Shubham Dhand of Hakikat Nagar and Sukhpreet Singh of Rajesh Nagar.
Police said the accused have known each other from school, are habitual drinkers and allegedly formed a gang to execute crimes. They recovered a car, a scooter, a bike and a sharp weapon from their possession.
During questioning, the accused claimed that the victim had snatched the car as retaliation to rude behaviour.
Sharing details about the arrests, commissioner of police Mandeep Singh Sidhu said police nabbed the accused near Ayali Chowk following a tip-off. Based on information provided by the group, the teams recovered the car from their possession.
“It is suspected that the accused had snatched the car to execute some crime. The police are interrogating the accused, who are on two days police remand,” the commissioner added.
Two accused still in school
“Kuldeep Singh is son of an ASI, who is a gunman with a political leader. The accused is pursuing Class 12. Karanvir Singh is also a student of Class 12. Tushar Bhatia works as a delivery boy in a private company, Shubham Dhand helps his father in his business. His father is a realtor and Sukhpreet Singh is jobless,” he added.
Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP, West) Mandeep Singh said Karanvir Singh is already wanted by PAU police in an attempt-to-murder case. Police are also scanning the criminal records of other accused.
The victim, Naveen Aggarwal of Rajgarh Estate, who is a principal entomologist at Punjab Agriculture University (PAU) lost his Maruti Suzuki Ertiga car to the accused late on Saturday while returning home after attending a party.
Upon reaching near the Jhammat Canal bridge, the accused stopped him and brandished a weapon at him. The group then allegedly snatched the keys and drove the car away.
The accused were initially booked under sections 379-B (snatching using force) of the Indian Penal Code. Police later added section 395 (dacoity) to the first information report (FIR). More important information has been expected from the accused during further questioning.
