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Ludhiana: Armyman robbed in Dehlon, alleges delay in FIR registration
The victim, 25-year-old Pradeep Rao from Sikar, Rajasthan, had taken six days’ leave; he was on his way home on a bus when the incident occurred
A soldier posted in Uri, Jammu and Kashmir, was robbed of cash, valuables and his uniform along with documents in Ludhiana’s Dehlon area on June 1. It took over a month for the city police to register an FIR, that too only after senior army officials contacted top police officers in Ludhiana, he said.
The victim, 25-year-old Pradeep Rao from Sikar, Rajasthan, had taken six days’ leave. He was on his way home on a bus when the incident occurred. According to Rao, he boarded a private bus from Jammu and Kashmir and was en route to Rajasthan. Around midnight near Ludhiana, an argument broke out with the bus conductor, who allegedly forced him to disembark in an isolated area. Shortly after, a Mahindra Bolero with five men pulled up. promising to help him re-board the bus, they made him sit in their SUV. Minutes later, the men beat him up, looted his belongings, including two iPhones, ₹20,700, a gold chain, a watch, power bank, bluetooth headset and his uniform with badge and shoes, and dumped him on the roadside.
“I went straight to the Dehlon police station,” Rao said. “But the police told me to get a medical check-up first. I waited outside the Dehlon civil hospital until it opened. After getting my injuries treated, I gave my statement to police on June 2 and was told an FIR would be registered. But nothing happened for weeks,” he said.
Rao had to return to Uri to resume duty where he informed his senior officers, who contacted Ludhiana police officials. Only after this pressure did the Dehlon police call him back to Ludhiana. “I was told I only needed to sign some papers, but I was kept for three days and asked the same questions again and again. Only then an FIR was was registered,” he said.
He pointed out the police’s reluctance to book the bus conductor, whom he suspects of being part of the plot. “I believe the conductor conspired with the robbers,” Rao stated.
Inspector Sukhjinder Singh, SHO at the Dehlon police station, defended the delay. “The case seemed suspicious at first. It was unusual that someone would get into an unknown car so late at night. The soldier insisted the conductor was involved, but he works on a long-distance bus route between J&K and Rajasthan. The conductor claimed Rao was drunk and misbehaving, which is why he was made to get off the bus.”
The SHO added that only after verifying facts and contacting the soldier again was the FIR filed. He confirmed that Rao’s mobile phone has been put on tracking and that police are closing in on the robbers.
The FIR has been registered under Sections 307, 115(2) and 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), and an investigation is ongoing.
