Rape attempt: Auto was plying illegally

Amit Sharma

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, May 21

The auto in which a Dehradun resident was picked from Sector 35 by a 26-year-old youth was plying illegally in the city for over a year on a temporary number. Police sources said the auto owner had failed to get it registered.

The sources said the auto was plying on a temporary number, which was illegal. “The owner of the auto, identified as Lalwa, a resident of Attawa, had failed to get it registered,” the sources said.

According to the rules, a new vehicle has to be registered within a month of its purchase.

Inspector Ranjodh Singh, SHO of the Sector 36 police station, said the fact that the auto was not registered came to light during the investigation and appropriate action would be taken in the matter.

According to the police, the auto owner was unaware that the accused took his auto for a joyride. The police traced the owner in the morning, who denied having any knowledge about the accused driving his auto at night.

The accused, Mukesh, had tried to rape a 28-year-old fashion designer in Sector 42. The victim, who was returning from a party, sat in the auto after the accused, who was on a joyride on his neighbour’s auto, offered to drop her at her destination. The accused took the victim on the road towards Attawa and tried to rape her. A CTU bus, that plies between the ISBT, Sector 17, and the ISBT, Sector 43, at night, was crossing from the spot when the bus driver, Mohit Thakur, saw the accused pulling the girl. Mohit immediately stopped the bus and alerted the bus conductor, Ravinder Singh. The duo rushed to the rescue of the girl and caught the auto driver.

The incident of the auto plying without registration has further raised questions over the functioning of the Chandigarh Police, who have failed to check autos plying illegally in the city.

SSP (Traffic) Shashank Anand, however, said the traffic police regularly checked documents of autos plying in the city.