Chandigarh MC staffer among three held for snatching auto in Sector 29
A contractual employee of the Chandigarh municipal corporation was among the three men who had snatched an auto-rickshaw in Sector 29 on Independence Day after posing as passengers, police said on Friday.
A contractual employee of the Chandigarh municipal corporation was among the three men who had snatched an auto-rickshaw in Sector 29 on Independence Day after posing as passengers, police said on Friday.
Cracking the case swiftly, police have arrested all three snatchers, including MC’s contractual employee Deepak, 31, a resident of Sector 20.
The other accused are Abhishek Kohli, 22, of Sector 8 and Shahanawaj, alias Changu, 32, of Phase 2, Ram Darbar. Abhishek is unemployed, while Shahnawaj works at a salon, said police.
They had snatched the auto-rickshaw of one Dheeraj Kumar, 22, a resident of Khuda Ali Sher, on August 15.
Kumar had reported that he was going towards the Sector 20/21/33/34 chowk, when three men standing on the roadside in Sector 21 signalled him to stop.
They asked him to drop them at Mauli Jagran, 8 km away, and agreed to pay ₹300.
On the way, they asked him to drive towards the Sectors 29/30/31/32 chowk. While following their instructions, he overheard them planning to rob him of his three-wheeler, following which he stopped the vehicle in the middle of the road, Kumar said.
He further said he stepped out of the auto and asked the trio to step down, when one of them took the driver’s seat and the other two pushed him.
Afraid, he stepped away from the vehicle and trio drove off with it, following which he alerted the police control room at 112. The auto also had his wallet containing ₹250, along with important documents.
A case under Section 379-A (snatching) of the Indian Penal Code was registered at the Industrial Area police station on his complaint.
Following a probe, police arrested the three accused and recovered the auto-rickshaw, along with the victims’ wallet and cash, from their possession.
Police said all accused were drug addicts. With their arrest, police have solved a total of six cases of snatching and vehicle theft registered at different police stations and recovered five two-wheelers.