Broad-daylight dacoity in Karnal not pre-planned: Police probe

Police investigation into the alleged broad-daylight dacoity in Subhash Colony last Monday, in which five persons have been arrested, has revealed that the crime was not a pre-planned strike, but result of a sudden change of target by the accused.

The police confirmed that the five men from Ludhiana had initially planned to commit the crime in Jaipur due to high concentration of jewellery and diamond shops there. However, while passing through Ambala, they changed their plan after seeing social media posts highlighting the prosperity of Karnal’s residential colonies.

The accused searched online for posh colonies in Karnal, shortlisted a few, and after reaching the city, hired an e-rickshaw for going to Subhash Colony. They took a round of the area to identify a house with easy entry, the police said.

They eventually barged into home of construction contractor Manoj Pasricha, where the family was busy preparing for his son’s wedding.

Superintendent of Police (SP) Ganga Ram Punia said the investigation revealed that the gang had no prior knowledge of the family, their occupation, or the wedding. They had not conducted a recce a day or even days before the crime. “The accused did not know whose house they were entering. It was not a targeted attack. They were finding a house with an easy access,” the SP said.

He said no evidence of any insider’s involvement was found so far, while the investigation was ongoing. The five accused — Rajiv, alias Raja, Deepak, alias Harry, Prince Kumar, Amrit Pal, and Abhishek, all residents of Ludhiana — who are currently on police remand. Rajiv, the prime accused, is a notorious history-sheeter with 56 criminal cases registered against him, including murder, robbery, dacoity, and Arms Act violations. He had served a 20-year jail term in a murder case and was released last year.

The incident occurred around 8.20 am on November 24, when five armed men forcibly entered the Pasricha’s residence. When a woman resisted, they hit her on the head with a gun butt. The assailants opened fire without warning and held the entire family hostage at gunpoint. During the chaos, groom Aditya Pasricha, who had returned from Australia for his December 4 wedding, sustained a bullet injury, but is now out of danger. The gang escaped with gold, silver ornaments, cash, and the family’s car. However, the police arrested the accused within a couple of hours.

The breakthrough came when the police traced the GPS installed in the stolen car. After abandoning the vehicle in the city, the accused boarded an auto-rickshaw and then a bus. To mislead the police, they first boarded a bus heading towards Delhi, got off at Gharaunda, and then took another bus going towards Chandigarh.

The police continued the chase, and with assistance from the Ambala and the Panchkula police, all five accused were arrested from a bus near Zirakpur within hours. A case under Sections 310(2), 311, 109, 333, 135, 61(2) of the BNS and 25, 54, 59 of the Arms Act was registered at the Civil Lines police station against the accused.