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Panchkula: Armed with slingshots, iron rods, tools, gang breaks into Sector-2 home
The incident came to light when Seema Bhardwaj’s husband woke up around 3:30 am to catch an early morning flight for Mumbai. He noticed unusual activity, prompting the thieves to flee the house. Bhardwaj immediately scanned the CCTV footage and was shocked by the thieves’ appearance and their apparent level of preparation.
In a startling reminiscence of the notorious Kala Kachha gang, a couple in Panchkula’s Sector-2 reported a house break-in attempt by five individuals, who were wearing only shorts and undershirts, and were armed with slingshots, iron rods, and a tool bag for breaking locks and dislodging windows. The incident took place in the early hours of Monday.
The thieves allegedly broke the chain lock at the main gate and gained access into the drawing room by dislodging a window but could not proceed further as the adjoining room was locked.
The incident came to light when Seema Bhardwaj’s husband woke up around 3:30 am to catch an early morning flight for Mumbai. He noticed unusual activity, prompting the thieves to flee the house. Bhardwaj immediately scanned the CCTV footage and was shocked by the thieves’ appearance and their apparent level of preparation.
In an attempt to evade capture, the intruders allegedly cut the wire of a CCTV camera installed near the window through which they entered. However, they were captured on another CCTV camera on the property. Bhardwaj said they remained inside the premises for almost an hour.
In her detailed account to the police, Bhardwaj provided information about her servants, individuals who had recently visited her house for services, and other purposes. She also noted a suspicious incident on June 22, hours before the attempt, where a strange boy on a bicycle was seen peering into her house during the daytime. She had scolded him, and he subsequently fled.
According to police sources, the gang that attempted this theft may hail from Madhya Pradesh. These gangs typically commit crimes in one area before moving on to another. Meanwhile, Sector-5 police station has registered a case under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and is working to identify the accused through CCTV footage.
Subhash Chandra, president of the RWA, Sector-2, expressed grave concern over the increasing crime incidents, stating that nearly 8 to 10 theft and snatching incidents and attempts have occurred in the area in the last year. He also highlighted the tragic murder of an 87-year-old retired colonel and his wife in the same sector last March, where three unidentified assailants attacked the colonel, his wife, and caretaker in broad daylight with sharp-edged weapons.
Chandra along with other sector residents demanded intensified and regular police patrolling in the area. Chandra further informed that the association had previously met with the local DCP and even raised this issue with the chief minister during a ‘Janta Darbar’ in March, but “nothing has been done.”
He also pointed out that the barbed wire fencing along the green belt on the Kalka highway side, which was fixed with cemented pillars, is damaged. A complaint was lodged with the Panchkula Metropolitan Development Authority (PMDA), but no action has been taken.
Pinjore family fights back, catches one gang member
Just a day after a similar incident in Sector-2, a slingshot-wielding gang attempted a robbery at a house in village Bitna, Pinjore, during the early hours of Tuesday. Four thieves, armed with slingshots, iron tools, and rods, broke through a window grill and entered the home around 2 am.
Complainant Rohit said that when he woke up after spotting four individuals in the dark, they attacked him with a stone. As Rohit and his father pinned down one thief, the other three accomplices launched a relentless, 15-minute stone-pelting assault using slingshots. Rohit’s wife was injured when a slingshot stone hit her face. But the family still managed to hand over one accused to the police. An FIR has been registered, and the 45-year-old accused is being interrogated.
Rohit, however, alleged that despite emergency calls to police, no help arrived for 15 minutes. Only after he directly contacted the Pinjore SHO did police arrive promptly.
