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Mohali: Six held for vandalising 3 hotels over old enmity
While complainant Praveen Kumar said his hotels were vandalised for extortion, Mohali police denied the claims at a press conference on Monday adding that it was an old enmity between the complainant and a local resident
Two days after around 30 men vandalised three hotels in Zirakpur, police arrested six accused on Monday.
While complainant Praveen Kumar said his hotels were vandalised for extortion, Mohali police denied the claims at a press conference on Monday adding that it was an old enmity between the complainant and a local resident.
Moreover, according to people familiar with the matter, a criminal case registered against Kumar in the past led to the enmity.
Praveen Kumar alias Honey, who runs three hotels in Zirakpur on lease, including G-Plaza, New Style Hotel and Hotel Anmol told police that around 30 men, including accused Sahil Thakur of Chhat village, Zirakpur, vandalised his hotels on Saturday after he refused to pay extortion money to him.
Kumar added that Thakur, who sought ₹50,000 extortion from him citing influential contacts, had met him numerous times in the past 15 days.
“On July 25, Sahil, along with his 20 men, forcibly got my hotels shut in my absence. On Saturday he returned again with around 30 men at around 10 pm carrying swords, rods and baseball bats. They vandalised my hotels, damaging furniture, LED TVs, mirrors, etc. The men fled after robbing my staff of ₹20,000 at Hotel New Style and also took away digital video recorder (DVR),” Kumar said.
Police had nominated 18 persons by name in the case registered on Sunday, besides nominating 13 unidentified persons.
Meanwhile, superintendent of police (SP) rural Manpreet Singh and Zirakpur station house officer (SHO) Jaskanwal Singh Sekhon, at the press conference at Zirakpur police station, said acting on the statement of the complainant, all the accused were booked under sections of organised crime, dacoity, robbery and extortion. But, the investigation revealed that an old enmity existed between the complainant and one Feroz.
“Sahil is associated with Feroz, who allegedly sought extortion as per the statement of the victim and vandalised the hotels, but, it is a case of an old rivalry between Kumar and Feroz. All the accused are local residents and thus there is no angle of extortion being sought by any gangster in the case. Since the accused vandalised the hotels, six of them have been arrested and others will be nabbed soon,” the SP said.
Those arrested were identified as Harpreet, Prince, Rakesh, Deepak, Vajinder and Rajnish.
