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Chandigarh | Carjackers rob cab driver, crash into electricity pole, nabbed
Around 100 metres before Saidpura, two of the carjackers, including one sitting on the front passenger seat, took out their pistols, snatched the Uber driver’s phone and pushed him out of the car; the accused had boarded the cab near ATS Valley School around 12.30am and told the driver to take them to old Panchkula.
Four carjackers landed in the police net just eight hours after they snatched an Uber driver’s Maruti S Presso in Derabassi on Saturday, as their plans went haywire after a car crash.
The accused had boarded the cab near ATS Valley School around 12.30am and told the driver to take them to old Panchkula.
“Around 100 metres before Saidpura, two of the carjackers, including one sitting on the front passenger seat, took out their pistols, snatched the Uber driver’s phone and pushed him out of the car,” said Derabassi deputy superintendent of police (DSP) Darpan Ahluwalia.
After the accused sped away with the car, the victim borrowed a phone from a passerby and informed the police.
How they were nabbed
A senior police officer, privy to the investigation, said that after the carjacking, the accused rammed into an electricity pole following which they were forced to abandon the car.
“In the crash, one of the accused suffered a head injury, another one got hurt in the leg, following which they fled on foot. They were eventually traced with the help of closed-circuit television cameras and phone dump details,” said the officer.
All four were arrested from Saidpura around 8am on Saturday.
The accused were identified as Ameen Khan, a native of Uttar Pradesh, Sameer Khan of Uttar Pradesh, Birendra Mukhiya of Nepal and Bablu Diswa of Bihar, all aged between 22-25 years.
Police also found two country-made pistols and six live cartridges from their possession. The snatched car was also recovered from the spot where they abandoned it.
The accused have been booked under Sections 379 B (snatching) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of Indian Penal Code. A senior cop said the accused will also be questioned on the past carjacking incidents in Mohali.
The Uber driver, who was visibly shaken after the incident, said he won’t be driving the cab at night anymore.
On the prowl
Saturday’s incident was the fourth carjacking in two weeks in Mohali, and the second involving a cab driver.
On November 20, an Uber driver Jaspreet Singh was robbed of his vehicle at gunpoint by four armed men who booked the taxi for Kharar from Mohali. The gang had taken the cab to Phagwara, from where police arrested them a week later.
On November 24, two cars were snatched at gunpoint from the district. The gang first robbed three siblings of their car near Purab Premium Apartments in Sector 88 in wee hours and then struck again late at night and snatched a Panipat resident’s car from Phase 11. Police have been unable to trace this gang, however, the vehicle snatched from the siblings was recovered as it was equipped with an anti-theft system, which allowed the owner to bring it to a stop.
The Panipat resident’s car remains untraced. Mohali has witnessed nine carjacking cases in all this year.
