3 robbers held after brief encounter at marriage place

Amritsar, November 9

The Amritsar rural police arrested three car robbers after a brief encounter in Varpal area here on Thursday. They had come to attend a shagun function at a marriage palace when the police got a tip-off about their presence there.

The police said they had snatched two cars – Hyundai Verna and Maruti Suzuki Ciaz – from Tarsikka area on October 22 and 29. They were identified as Rajbir Singh, alias Bir, Lovejit Singh, alias Love, of Gohalwarh village in Tarn Taran district and Baljinder Singh of Pheloke village in Goindwal Sahib area in Tarn Taran.

The police have recovered a .32 bore pistol along with two magazines, two live bullets, three empty shells and a sharp-edged weapon, besides a Ciaz car from their possession.

A fresh case under Sections 307, 353, 186 and 34 of the Indian Penal Code and Section 25 of the Arms Act was registered against them at the Chatiwind police station here.

Superintendent of Police Gurpartap Singh Sahota said Chatiwind police station SHO Harpal Singh received a tip-off that the three accused were present in the marriage palace where they arrived in a stolen (Ciaz) car. They parked the car along the wall of the marriage palace and sat in another car (Kia) in the parking of the palace.

He said police teams cordoned off the area and launched a search operation in the palace to nab them. The accused tried to run away in the car, but the police tried to stop them. The accused opened fire on the police party. Cops had a narrow escape in the firing following which the cops retaliated. After a brief exchange of fire, the police arrested the trio.

“We are scanning the footage of the CCTV cameras in the palace to identify their accomplices who might be there in the marriage palace,” said Sahota, adding that further interrogation was on to recover the Verna car robbed by them.