Gurgaon: Goons beat up man, rob Fortuner in busy market

Four unidentified men robbed a Bijwasan resident of his Toyota Fortuner near the busy Vyapar Kendra market in Palam Vihar on Sunday. They assaulted the car-owner, pushed him out of the vehicle and fled with the car, police said.

Four unidentified men robbed a Bijwasan resident of his Toyota Fortuner near the busy Vyapar Kendra market in Palam Vihar on Sunday. They assaulted the car-owner, pushed him out of the vehicle and fled with the car, police said.

Police recovered a Fortuner stolen from DLF Phase 1 that was used in the attack of BJP leader Brijpal Teotia in August 2016.(HT File)

The incident took place despite the fact that the market was crowded and there was police presence in the area.

The Toyata Fortuner —a sports utility vehicles (SUV) — continues to be a favourite among carjackers in Gurgaon because of the high resale value and demand for the vehicle in stolen cars market.

In 2016, several cases of Fortuner thefts were reported in Gurgaon.

A FIR has been registered at the Palam Vihar police station against four unidentified men in Sunday’s incident.

Vinod Rana of Bijwasan, Delhi, had visited the Grugaon market on Sunday evening. Around 8pm, when he was returning home, a man stopped his SUV near Rana’s at the parking lot and started talking to him. In a few minutes, the man asked Rana to hand over the keys of his SUV.

“The victim (Rana) was shocked when the man snatched his car keys and asked him to move out. The accused pushed him to the co-driver’s seat and slapped him,” inspector Sandeep Singh, station house officer, Palam Vihar police station, said.

However, when Rana tried to raise an alarm, three men who were waiting nearby rushed towards them and boarded the vehicle, police said.

They assaulted him, pushed him out of the SUV and fled with the car. A case was registered under section 379B (snatching) of the Indian Penal Code, police said.

In a similar incident in June 2016, a Toyota Fortuner was stolen from DLF Phase 1, Gurgaon, and assailants used the vehicle to attack BJP leader Brijpal Teotia in Ghaziabad in August. In the same month three other Fortuners were stolen at gunpoint.