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Two days after gangrape, robbery in Ludhiana, police arrest six
Serial criminals: Police commissioner says two accused facing trial in theft, dacoity cases; while three accused escaped; gang mastermind, a scrap dealer, is at large.
A day after the horrific gangrape and robbery in Mangli in Focal Point, the police arrested six accused on Thursday, even as three of their accomplices escaped from Focal point area. The police said a scarp dealer, who was the mastermind behind the crime, is also at large.
The arrested accused have been identified as Raja Ram, Dharminder Sahni, Sooraj Kumar, residents of Dhandari Khurd, Sanoj Tiwari of Prem Nagar and Ali Hasan of Sherpur Kalan. The accused who are yet to be nabbed are Dharminder Lambu, Vinod, Chittu and the scrap dealer.
Among the arrested persons is scrap dealer Mohammad Bashir, who used to buy the robbed material from the accused. All the accused are between 25-30 years.
The police have recovered all of the robbed material, half of it from Mohammad Bashir and half from the other accused, along with the pick-up auto used by them in the crime.
Sukhchain Singh Gill, commissioner of police, said the six robbers who gangraped a labourer’s wife in the factory have been arrested. The police have launched a manhunt to arrest the rest of the accused.
Modus operandi
The police chief said scrap dealer Pappu operates the gang. After customers used to ask for certain goods from Pappu, he used to promise that he will arrange for it.Upon this, he used to command the gang members and directed them about the locations where to commit robberies for the goods. Pappu used to roam around the area to find the target and in the midnight the accused used to rob.
All the accused are migrant labourers and live in nearby localities. The accused have confessed to their involvement in five robberies in Sahnewal area, said police.
Tuesday night robbery, gangrape
It was on the intervening night of Tuesday and Wednesday that the accused targeted a factory in Mangli area and took metal goods worth ₹10 lakh. The accused also gangraped a woman.
Police shared that two accused Raja Ram and Dharminder Sahni are already facing trial in theft and dacoity cases.
A case under Section 392 (punishment for robbery), 342 (punishment for wrongful confinement), 506 (punishment for criminal intimidation) and 120B (punishment for criminal conspiracy), 376D (gangrape) of the Indian Penal Code was registered against the accused at Focal Point police station .
The police chief added that more information is expected from the accused during their interrogation. Half of the stole items were recovered from a scrap dealer, other half from the accused, including the auto used by them in the crime
