Woman among 3 held, six cars recovered

Tribune News Service

Mohali, July 15

The Zirakpur police today arrested three persons, including a woman, who used to steal vehicles and loot people on the highway. The police recovered six cars and a country-made pistol from one of the suspects.

The suspects have been identified as Manoj Thakur, who was a resident of Moradabad district (Uttar Pradesh), Arpit Kumar, an alleged highway looter, who was a resident of Karnal and Murti, alias Gurnamo, a resident of Johlian village in Sangrur.

Giving details, the Superintendent of Police (SP), Rural, Ravjot Kaur Grewal, said the police arrested Thakur from a recently developed slum area behind Big Bazaar in Zirakpur. Fourteen cases had been registered against Thakur and he was out on bail, the SP added. Six vehicles were recovered from him, the SP said. Thakur used to steal cars and sell these at cheaper rates, the SP added. All stolen cars had fake number plates, the SP said. More stolen cars were likely to be recovered, the SP added.

The Zirakpur police received information that a gang was active in the area and was looting people on the highway, the SP said. The police arrested Arpit Kumar and recovered a country-made pistol from him, the SP added.

The police also arrested Murti, a member of the vehicle thieves’ gang, who robbed a woman of gold bangle on July 12, the SP said. Several cases were registered against gang members at different police stations, the SP added.

Earlier, in her complaint to the police, victim Amarjit Kaur, a resident of Noida (Uttar Pradesh), stated that she had come to Zirakpur to meet her niece. She boarded an auto-rickshaw at the Zirakpur-Patiala chowk, the victim added. Four more women, who were already sitting in the auto, started quarreling among themselves, the victim said. After sometime, they got down from the auto, the victim added. Later, she realised that her gold bangle was missing, the victim said. She got down from the auto and started chasing the women, but they fled in a white Swift car, which was parked nearby, the victim added. However, she was able to note down the registration number of the car, the victim said.

The suspects were produced in a court, which remanded them in police custody, the SP said.