Mandi Gobindgarh man robs SUV in Mohali, four arrested

A man lost his Mahindra Thar car to four robbers near Sohana Hospital in the wee hours of Sunday.

The victim, Deepak Aggarwal of Mandi Gobindgarh, told the police that he had come to Mohali to meet someone. At the time of the incident, he was accompanied by a woman in his car when four kidnappers driving a Maruti intercepted his car around 3 am. The incident was recorded by a video surveillance camera located nearby.

The CCTV footage shows Aggarwal, a real estate dealer by profession, having a long argument with the accused before they fled with his vehicle.

The police said that according to the victim, it was initially a case of road rage as he mistakenly rammed his car into the accused’s car. Enraged by the incident, the accused intercepted him outside Sohan Hospital, exchanging heated arguments for over 15 minutes. After freeing the victim’s car from its passengers, they eventually fled with both cars.

Police said the victim called her friend at the scene and informed the police, after which PCR and Sohana police reached the spot.

Meanwhile, the police are also investigating the honey trap and investigating the woman’s role in the incident.

A senior police officer said investigators have collected important evidence against the accused and the suspects are likely to be arrested soon.

“This is not exactly a carjacking, as the victim and the accused first had an argument, after which the accused took his car. Our teams are tracking them through CCTV and intelligence and soon they will be in the police net. However, it is also possible that it was a case of honey trap,” said a senior police officer.

A case has been registered under Section 309 (robbery) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).

However, Mohali SSP Deepak Pareek said the investigation in the case is on. “We are making a concerted effort to tackle street crime as we have identified theft hotspots and are now installing CCTV cameras. Regular patrolling is also carried out under the supervision of senior police officers. When the accused is arrested, everything will become clear whether he stopped him for the purpose of robbing the car or not.”

This is the second car robbery in less than 10 days after four people stole a local resident’s car and mobile phone at gunpoint in Sector 86, Mohali on October 26 morning. In this case, Sohana police detained four people, including a woman.

Previous cases of car theft

October 7: A taxi driver was robbed of his car and mobile phone by two men posing as passengers at gunpoint near Sector 85-86 chowk in Mohali around 4 am. The suspects were detained by the police

September 29: Three men robbed a taxi driver on the service lane near Chatt traffic light in Zirakpur. The suspects were later detained.

July 21: A taxi driver’s car, two mobile phones and ₹2,400 by four men posing as passengers near Delhi Public School, Chappar Chiri, in the wee hours of Sunday. The accused were detained.