One killed in petrol pump robbery

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, July 24

In yet another incident, unidentified miscreants robbed a petrol pump located on the Jandiala-Tangra road late in the evening yesterday.

One of the victim, identified as Gurmeet Singh, who worked as an attendant at Doaba Filling Station, was killed while another worker, identified as Sukhwinder Singh of Sultanpur Lodhi, sustained serious injuries in the attack.

In his complaint, Sukhwinder stated to the police that the two unidentified persons came to the filling station and asked them for refueling their motorcycle. The two employees asked them that the petrol pump was closed for the day. However, the unidentified robbers attacked them with sharp-edged weapons and snatched their mobile phone. The robbers took away Rs 4,500 in possession of the victims. Gurmeet sustained serious head injury in the attack and was rushed to a hospital where he was declared brought dead.

Investigating officer Harpal Singh said a case had been registered in this connection and further investigations were under progress to identify the culprits.

Petrol filling stations have become an easy target for robbers, especially in the rural belt of the city. So far, the Police Department has failed to curb such incidents of robbery.

In May this year, three motorcycle-borne persons snatched Rs 15,000 from Randhawa Filling Station at Dayal Bharang village on Ajnala-Fatehgarh Churian Road here.

On March 15, unidentified armed robbers looted a petrol pump at gun point in Hoshiarnagar village. The accused took away Rs 48,000 from employees at the filling station. The culprits were travelling in a car, which had no registration number plate. They entered the petrol pump at 9.30 pm and asked attendants to refuel the car with petrol for Rs 2,000. Later, they took out a pistol and snatched the bag containing cash from the attendant. Before fleeing from the spot, they locked filling station employees inside a cabin.

Another petrol pump was looted on March 5 in Sangatpura village after the culprits took its two employees as hostage. Two unidentified robbers armed with sharp-edged weapons and covered faces gained entry into BDS Filling Station at Sangatpura village from the backside wall, when its employees were sleeping inside a cabin. They managed to open doors of the cabin and took the two employees, identified as Bir Singh and Guljar Singh, both residents of Muridke village, as hostage.

Later, the robbers forced them to open doors of the room where cash was kept. They snatched keys from attendants of the pump and took away Rs 49,000 kept in the cash box.