Armed assailants fire at travel agent's car in broad daylight in Jalandhar

Jalandhar, December 15

Panic spread in the bus stand area around noon today as armed assailants shot at a parked car of a travel agent in what is among the busiest places of the city.

The incident clearly showed that the miscreants had no fear of committing the crime in broad daylight and in full public view. Bike-borne youths came to the spot violating all traffic rules by indulging in triple riding and using wrong lanes.

The shocked visitors to the market area near bus stand, including vendors, could not believe that what they had heard were actually gunshots. “At first, I thought that some youths had burst crackers. It was seconds later that I realised that the bikers had opened fire,” said a vendor near the site.

The indication that it could be a case of extortion by a gang has also spread panic among industrialists in the city. “Most extortion cases go unreported because of tension in the family and lack of confidence in the working of the police,” said a city businessman. Ashwani Victor, another businessman, said, “The incidents of crime and threats to Focal Point industrialists are on the rise. The demand for money, victimisation and damaging cars to scare people have become common.”

“We already have been hearing about ransom calls as had happened with hand tool manufacturer Narinder S Saggoo. A cloth merchant of Nakodar lost his life when he refused to pay the extortion amount. There seems to be no law and order in the city. Going out and returning home late at night has become really scary,” claimed BJP leaders in the city.