Car-borne gang dupes two elderly women of gold jewellery, yet again

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, May 1 

Two more elderly women were targeted by the car-borne gang that has women members. A victim was duped in Sector 20 while she was returning from a temple and another was targeted at Sector 47 when she was returning from her granddaughter’s school. Their gold bangles were robbed by the accused who had offered them a lift. Already four such incidents have been reported in the city this year, with the UT police failing to make any headway in the cases.

According to the police, 72-year-old Vidya Vati, a resident of Ssector 19, had gone to Math Mandir in Sector 20 on Saturday. While returning, the woman sat at the bus stop near the temple, when a woman approached her and offered the victim to drop her home. The victim sat in the car with the accused. The victim was dropped near her house and on returning home she noticed that her two gold bangles were missing. 

The matter was reported to the police following which, a case was registered at the Sector 19 police station. 

In another incident, Laxmi Rani (65), a resident of Sector 40, complained that she had gone to her granddaughter’s school in Sector 47.

After attending the meeting the victim was walking down towards her house when a woman approached her and offered a lift. 

When the victim sat in the car, one of the woman pulled  out the victim’s gold bangles and pushed her out of the car. The accused then drove away from the spot. 

A case regarding the same has been registered at the Sector 31 police station.

Modus Operandi 

The gang that has two women and a man riding a white Zen car, targets elderly people near temples and local markets. They offer them lift on the pretext of dropping them to their destinations. Victims sitting in the car get unconscious after which they are dropped. Later on, they discover that the jewellery they were wearing is missing. 

Similar incidents 

Similar incidents have been reported in Panchkula and Mohali, however, the police in both the cities have failed to nab the accused. 

Past incidents 

March 15: An elderly woman, a resident of Sector 30, was on her way to buy vegetables when a car with three passengers, including two women, halted near her and offered her a lift. The victim was made to sit in a car and robbed of her two gold bangles. 

February 21: 70-year-old woman was robbed of her gold bangles while she was on her way back home after attending a religious congregation at Sant Nirankari Satsang Bhawan in Sector 30. 

February 13: 83-year-old Birinder Kaur was targeted outside the gurdwara in Sector 34 on February 3 when she was waiting for her husband. The victim was robbed of her four gold bangles  after she was offered a lift by them. 

January 10: An 82-year-old Vidya Sharma, a resident of Sector 27, was duped of her gold earrings by the accused who had offered her a lift while she was on her way to the market. Later, she found that her earrings were missing.