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Three siblings fall prey to armed carjackers in Mohali, GPS saves the day
Car was tracked down within three hours at Sirhind, where the carjackers had abandoned it. Police suspect the carjackers may have found out about the GPS in the car, which prompted them to leave the vehicle behind.
Three siblings returning from a trip to Manali fell prey to armed carjackers near Purab Premium Apartments, Sector 88, Mohali, around 2:30am on Thursday but the global positioning system (GPS) installed in their rented Toyota Glanza car helped cops track down the vehicle within three hours of the incident. The accused, however, are on the run.
As per the police, the carjackers abandoned the car soon after the incident and it was recovered from Saidpura village in Sirhind. Police suspect the carjackers may have found out about the GPS in the car, which prompted them to leave the vehicle behind.
This is the seventh carjacking case reported in Mohali this year.
Complainant Harsad Gautam, 29, who runs a catering business, said he was returning from Manali with his sisters, Rimpy Gautam and Nisha Gautam, in a Toyota Glanza car, which they had rented from Rana cab rental in Sector 47, Chandigarh, on November 19.
They were to spend the night at their sister’s house in New Sunny Enclave, Kharar.
“Since it was late, we didn’t stop anywhere on our way but eventually stopped at Purab society to buy food. Unfortunately, the shops inside the society were closed following which we left for home. While we were still very close to the society gate, four to five men in a Honda City car intercepted our vehicle. They had weapons with them and one of them opened fire in the air and asked us to get off the car. As we stepped out, two of them snatched our mobile phones and sped away with our car.”
The victims informed the police control room using the phone of guard in a nearby society.
Mohali superintendent of police (SP, detective) Amandeep Singh Brar said, “We reached the spot immediately after receiving a complaint around 2.45am. Our teams are gathering the call dump details and closed-circuit television camera footage from the site. We have crucial leads about the accused and will track them down soon.”
No bullet shells found at spot
Sources in the police, meanwhile, said they did not find any bullet shells at the spot nor has anyone, except the siblings, heard the gunshots.
A senior cop, on the condition of anonymity, said, “Guards at the gates of nearby societies didn’t hear any gunshots being fired. Neither have we found any shells.”
Police are also investigating if the victims were under the influence of liquor as one of them gave a wrong mobile number following which a police team was sent to Amritsar while tracing it.
A case has been registered under Sections 379 B (snatching), 336 (act endangering life or personal safety of others) of Indian Penal Code and Section 25 of the Arms Act at Sohana police station.
