Panchkula: Police foil murder bid, arrest three who ‘robbed’ taxi at gunpoint

Further investigation revealed that the mobile phone used to make the booking had been snatched in Chandigarh the previous night, on November 18, which as per police, showed the accused had planned the crime meticulously — first snatching a mobile phone, then using it to book a cab, and finally robbing the vehicle.

With the help of the Cyber Cell, the police traced the accused within just 10 hours. A team led by ACP (Crime) Arvind Kamboj and Crime Branch Sector-26 In-charge Inspector Dalip Singh apprehended two accused, Rohit Dhiman and Bittu Thakur, from Paonta Sahib.

Around the same time, police received inputs that two other gang members were hiding with the robbed vehicle in the Khizrabad area of Yamunanagar. The Crime Branch conducted a raid and arrested the third accused, Satbir. Police said that the robbed Tata Nexon, two country-made pistols, and six live cartridges were recovered from his possession.

A case of robbery and snatching has been registered at Chandimandir Police Station.

The DCP (Crime) further informed that Satbir was already wanted in an attempt-to-murder case registered in Paonta Sahib. During preliminary interrogation, the accused revealed that they were planning to kill a youth named Rishabh from Paonta Sahib. To execute the murder without being identified, they needed a vehicle unlinked to them — hence the car robbery. Their plan was to commit the murder and escape in the stolen car, the DCP added.

All three accused were produced before the court on Thursday, where the court granted a six-day police remand for Satbir and Rohit to uncover details regarding the weapons supply, murder planning and other associates. The third accused, Bittu, has been sent to judicial custody.

Police teams are conducting raids to nab the fourth absconding accused and expect to arrest him soon.