E-Paper
Chandigarh: Cycle thief who escaped lock-up lands in police net
As per the police, after escaping lock-up, the ‘cycle thief’ hitched rides from passersby and managed to reach Mohali. He also went to Panjyali and Kathgarh in Himachal Pradesh, and Solkhian and Amritsar in Punjab.
Four days after escaping the lock-up in Sector 39, a 26-year-old man, accused of cycle theft, has landed in the police net.
The accused, Divesh Sharma of Balongi village in Mohali, had escaped from police custody on Tuesday. He had been arrested for allegedly stealing high-end bicycles from Sectors 38 West, 56 and parts of Mohali. In all, 13 stolen cycles were recovered from him.
As per the police, after escaping custody, the accused hitched rides from passersby and managed to reach Mohali. He also went to Panjyali and Kathgarh in Himachal Pradesh, and Solkhian and Amritsar in Punjab. He took shelter in gurdwaras on the way.
As he did not have any cash on him, police were sure that he would try to contact his family members. On Saturday, they received a tip-off that the accused was heading to Chandigarh and was spotted on the road dividing Sectors 55 and 56. Police immediately set up a naka and nabbed him.
As per the police, Sharma has been debarred by his parents due to his drug addiction. His father works in Solan while his mother is a housewife. He has two brothers --one a teacher and the other a software engineer-- and one sister who is married.
The accused was produced before court and sent to judicial custody. He now faces a case under Sections 223 (escape from confinement or custody negligently suffered by a public servant) and 224 (resistance or obstruction by a person to his lawful apprehension) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
On the intervening night of Monday and Tuesday, assistant sub-inspector (ASI) Charanjit Singh, who was the reserve officer of the Sector-39 police station, had found the shoes of the accused missing. When he went towards the main lock-up, he found that two iron rods were folded and the accused was also missing.
Sharma’s escape had led to action against the erring cops. Station house officer (SHO) inspector Ashok Kumar was transferred to the PCR branch and replaced by inspector Juldan Singh. Two woman cops, including assistant sub-inspector Birmati, who was the night munshi, and constable Geeta, who was on the women desk, were suspended.
