E-Paper
Panchkula: Taxi driver assaulted, robbed at gunpoint in Ramgarh; 3 held
According to police, the complainant, Pankaj, a resident of Sirsa district, currently living as a tenant in Kharar, was operating a taxi (Tata Nexon) when he received an online booking for a trip from Mohali to Ramgarh early on November 19
Police have arrested three accused involved in kidnapping, assault and armed robbery of a taxi driver. Police said all three were apprehended within 24 hours of the incident, and the looted vehicle, country-made pistols and live cartridges were recovered.
According to police, the complainant, Pankaj, a resident of Sirsa district, currently living as a tenant in Kharar, was operating a taxi (Tata Nexon) when he received an online booking for a trip from Mohali to Ramgarh early on November 19.
At around 5 am, four persons — Rohit Dhiman, Satbir, Biddu Thakur, and a fourth accomplice named Hamza — boarded the taxi at Kharar, Mohali. The journey remained uneventful until around 6.30 am, when the vehicle reached a relatively isolated stretch near the main highway in Ramgarh in Panchkula district.
There, the accused instructed the driver to stop. According to the complaint, the group forcibly pulled Pankaj out of the taxi and brutally assaulted him. During the attack, they flashed a country-made pistol, threatened to kill him, and left him at the roadside before fleeing with the vehicle.
Acting swiftly on November 20, a team of Sector 26 crime branch traced and arrested the two accused Rohit Dhiman and Bittu Thakur, both residents of Sirmaur district (Himachal Pradesh). The duo was held during raids in Paonta Sahib. One country-made pistol and four live rounds were also recovered from the vehicle’s dashboard, disclosed by accused Bittu.
Interrogation of the driver revealed a crucial lead — the car had been booked through the InDrive app, and the mobile phone used to book the ride had been snatched the previous night in Chandigarh. This indicated the crime was pre-planned.
During interrogation, police received information that two other members of the gang were hiding in Khizrabad, Yamunanagar, along with the looted vehicle. During a raid, the police arrested the third accused, Satbir, and recovered the stolen Tata Nexon (PB01C-8574), two country-made pistols, and six live cartridges. Police said the fourth accused, Hamza, is still absconding.
The case is registered at Chandimandir police station under Sections 115(2), 304, 3(5), 309(6), 351(2) of the BNS along with Sections 25, 54, 59 of the Arms Act.
Police said the accused disclosed that they were planning to murder a local youth named Rishabh. To avoid identification, they needed a vehicle unconnected to them, which is why they targeted and robbed the taxi. Their plan was to commit the murder while travelling in the stolen car and escape afterward.
Police are investigating whether the accused are linked to similar robberies or vehicle thefts in Haryana, Punjab, or Himachal Pradesh. A manhunt has been launched to arrest the fourth suspect, Hamza.
