Robbery accused found hanging at Ambala jail

The accused, who had turned to gunpoint robberies after failure in his photography business amid the pandemic, was arrested by the Ambala police on July 7

A week after he was arrested for robbing a car in Ambala after shooting at a man and his son, a 42-year-old man from Patiala district was found hanging at the Ambala Central Jail on Friday, police said.

The robbery accused was found hanging from a prison door and his feet were tied, said Ambala police. (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

The accused, who had turned to gunpoint robberies after failure in his photography business amid the pandemic, was arrested from his hometown on July 7 with the robbed car and a weapon that he had used to shoot at the victims on July 3.

The victims, Gulshan Kumar, a BJP leader and scrap dealer, and his son, Paras Bhatia, had suffered bullet injuries in the thigh in the incident.

After three days of police remand, the accused was sent to jail on July 11, inspector Gaurav Punia, station in-charge, Baldev Nagar police station, said.

“On Friday, the jail administration alerted us about his suicide. He was found hanging from a prison door and his feet were tied. An autopsy was conducted at the district civil hospital and the body was handed over to the family,” the inspector said.

Meanwhile, alleging foul play, the deceased’s family said they had met him on Thursday and he was in a good mood.

But inspector Punia said no written complaint was submitted in this regard.

Superintendent of police Jashandeep Singh Randhawa said, “Once the autopsy report is received, a judicial inquiry will be conducted to investigate the case.”

Before robbing the car in Ambala, the accused had allegedly also robbed a Honda Dio scooter at gunpoint from a 14-year-old girl on Airport Road in Mohali on June 12. While fleeing, he had abandoned a Honda Activa, which was found to have been robbed from Dera Bassi on June 3.