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Manimajra case: Carjacker used toy gun to rob Dhakoli couple, 2 held
Four days after the Manimajra carjacking, where a Dhakoli couple was robbed of their car at gunpoint on New Year’s eve, cops arrested the accused
Four days after the Manimajra carjacking, where a Dhakoli couple was robbed of their car at gunpoint on New Year’s eve, cops arrested the accused on Wednesday.
The accused, Amit Gupta, 38, of Zirakpur and Satwinder Singh, 38, of Fatehgarh Sahib, were arrested from Mansa Devi Road, while they were on their way to sell the stolen vehicle.
Chandigarh superintendent of police (SP) Shruti Arora said, “Gupta had robbed the couple of their SUV with help of a toy gun on December 31, and Singh had helped him sell the vehicle. The duo had struck a deal to sell the vehicle for ₹ 1 lakh, but were arrested after we received a tip off.”
In his complaint, Sammi Kumar Srivastava of Dhakoli said that on New Year’s Eve, he and his wife had gone to a shopping centre in Manimajra. Just as they were about to drive away, a man entered their Maruti Suzuki Brezza from the back door and pointing a gun at him, asked them to step out. After they complied, the accused sped away in their car.
An eyewitness tried to follow the carjacker on his bike, but he managed to give him the slip.
A case under Sections 392 (robbery), 397 (robbery, or dacoity, with attempt to cause death or grievous hurt) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and sections of the Arms Act was registered at the Manimajra police station.
Cops said that Gupta used to work at the same shopping centre where the carjacking took place and was well-versed with the area. “Gupta had carried out a recce of the area before committing the crime. Gupta drove the stolen car through the Manimajra motor market road, where there were no police nakas. We got our first breakthrough, when the accused was spotted on CCTV footage while returning to Chandigarh from Panchkula, a day after the carjacking,” the SP said.
“The accused refueled at a Sector 49 petrol pump, and dove off without paying,” she added.
Cops said both accused were addicted to drugs and had turned to criminal activities to fund their habit.
“Gupta, who hails from Barnala has an NDPS case registered against him, while Satwinder has three criminal cases registered against him,” the SP said, adding that the dup had met each other in Nabha Jail.
