Mohali: GPS tracker lands three carjackers in net in 60 minutes
Vigilant vehicle owner had already installed a tracker in the cab, which helped him trace the carjackers as they fled from Kharar towards Ludhiana
A vigilant cab owner managed to track down three robbers who made off with his car near Chandigarh University, Gharuan, within an hour, thanks to a GPS tracker he had already installed in the vehicle as a precaution.
The car owner, Rajesh Sood, 54, lives in Haibowal Kalan in Ludhiana and operates taxis.
He narrated to police that one of his taxis, a Maruti Suzuki Ertiga, was assigned to his employee Lovepreet Singh, who was ferrying three passengers from Shimla to Kharar on Thursday night.
After reaching Kharar, the three men, dressed as Nihangs, urged the driver to drop them beyond the toll plaza on the Kharar-Ludhiana road, offering extra money.
However, a dispute erupted over the drop-off point, as they had booked the cab only till Kharar, said Sood.
Amid a heated exchange, one of the passengers tried to strangle Lovepreet by flinging a cloth around his neck. But he managed to place fingers between his neck and the cloth.
The driver pleaded to be let go and even offered to waive the fare, but the accused continued to assault him and threatened him with swords. They proceeded to drag him out of the car, before fleeing with the vehicle and ₹12,500 in cash around 12.15 am.
Car owner’s quick thinking saves the day
Lovepreet quickly alerted the police and his employer, Rajesh Sood, about the carjackers fleeing towards Ludhiana.
Sood, having already installed a GPS tracker as a precaution, immediately began tracking the vehicle’s location.
As the robbers headed towards Ludhiana, Sood, along with his brother and nephew, rushed to Samrala Chowk, where a PCR van was already stationed.
“I alerted the cops about the crime and sought their help. As I told them that I was already tracking the robbers who were coming towards Samrala chowk, they immediately blocked the passage by stationing two trucks,” Sood said.
Sood also ingeniously sent his nephew 200 metres ahead of Samrala Chowk to keep an eye on the vehicle and alert him when it arrives. As soon as his nephew spotted the vehicle, he informed Sood over the phone.
As the robbers neared the police check post, Sood said he remotely disabled the car’s engine using his mobile phone, leaving the thieves trapped and shocked. Police quickly swooped in and arrested them. They were taken to the Moti Nagar police station and it was not until three hours later that the Sadar Kharar police arrived to take charge of the situation, Sood claimed.
As the carjacking took place in Kharar, the Sadar Kharar police lodged an FIR under Sections 304 (snatching) and 3(5) (act done by several persons) of the BNS and took the accused into their custody.
The juvenile was eventually sent to a juvenile justice home, while the other two — identified as Anshpreet Singh and Hardeep Singh, both natives of Jalandhar and in their early twenties — remain in police custody.
Notably, taking note of the increase in snatching and carjacking incidents during winter, mostly in the wee hours or late evening, Mohali police have already increased the number of PCR vehicles across the district. Yet the accused managed to execute the carjacking.