Robbers who shot at liquor shop owner in Dhakoli arrested
Four days after four masked men shot at the owner of a liquor shop and tavern, and made off with ₹10,000 in cash and liquor bottles near Mamta Enclave Colony in Zirakpur’s Dhakoli area on Friday night, Mohali police cracked the case on Tuesday with the arrest of four Panchkula youths, all aged 19 to 22.
Two .315-bore pistols with a live cartridge and two empty cartridges, besides two knives and a motorcycle used in the crime, were recovered from the accused, who were identified as Nishant Rana, 20; Manveer, 22; Vishal Kumar, alias Karandi; 19 and Pankaj alias Nikhil, 19, all residents of Panchkula.
Mohali senior superintendent of police (SSP) Deepak Pareek, while addressing a press conference at his office on Wednesday, said Rana, who was previously involved in a fraud case registered at the Chandimandir police station, was arrested from Sector 1, Panchkula. It was Rana who shot the owner of the shop, Deepak Sandhu, in the chest. Sandhu remains under treatment at PGIMER, Chandigarh, but is out of danger, as per police.
Manveer, previously involved in an Excise Act case at Panchkula’s Sector 7 police station, was also arrested from Sector 1. Vishal Kumar, named in a brawl case registered at the Mansa Devi police station, was arrested from Kharak Mangoli, Panchkula. Pankaj was also nabbed from the same area by teams of Mohali CIA and Dhakoli police led by superintendent of police (SP) Manpreet Singh, deputy superintendent of police (DSP) Talwinder Singh, DSP Jaspinder Singh and inspector Harminder Singh.
Procured weapons from Uttar Pradesh
During interrogation, the accused confessed to procuring illegal weapons from Uttar Pradesh with the intent of committing robberies.
“Prima facie, the accused formed their own gang and do not belong to any other notorious gang. We will now investigate their common link or how they all met. We will also arrest the persons who supplied them the illegal weapons and provided them logistics support post crime. Further investigation may link them to additional robbery cases,” SSP Pareek said.
All accused have been booked for robbery, attempt to murder and under various sections of the Arms Act.
Daring late-night robbery
Manoj Kumar, an employee at the liquor shop, had told police that around 11 pm on November 1, three masked men entered the shop, while a fourth person waited outside on a motorcycle.
Two suspects approached him at the counter. While one of them restrained him from behind and pressed a pistol against his back, demanding all valuables, another forcibly took ₹10,000 cash from a drawer.
As they tried to flee, Manoj went after the duo, pushing one of them into the basement in the process. Manoj also fell with the accused amid the melee, following which one of them fired a shot, which struck a wall.
Hearing the gunshot, shop owner Deepak Sandhu came out to intervene. The robbers then fired another gunshot, hitting Sandhu in the chest, before fleeing the scene.
