The Punjab Police on Sunday sounded an alert in Gurdaspur and neighbouring areas after three unidentified men made away with a taxi after thrashing its driver near Aujla village in Gurdaspur border district. The incident took place when the driver, Pardip Saini (40), was on his way to Pathankot after dropping a passenger in Amritsar via Gurdaspur bypass Saturday night.
“When he reached Babbri bypass near Aujla village around 10:15 pm on Saturday, a MUV (multi-ultility vehicle) stopped in front of his car. Three men, who were drunk, thrashed Pardip with a stick after accusing him of hitting their vehicle,” said Gurdaspur SSP Jagdeep Singh Hundal.
They then pushed him outside and snatched the key of his white-coloured car, bearing a Punjab registration number, and took away his vehicle along with the MUV, Saini said in his complaint.
The assailants were speaking in Punjabi, the SSP said, adding that the MUV, bearing a Punjab registration number, had an ‘On Duty’ sticker pasted on it. The men then abandoned the car at Dostpur village falling in Kalanaur area of Gurdaspur, about 1.5 to two km from the crime scene, the police said.
Police have traced the MUV and identified its owner as Gurdev Singh, resident of Bhuchar Khurd in Tarn Taran district. “They will soon be arrested,” SSP said.
The SSP said that the police took the complaint seriously and sounded an alert in Gurdaspur, Batala, Pathankot and Hoshiarpur districts to trace the assailants. A case under relevant sections including 379 (b), 323 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) has been registered at police station Tibber in this regard.
Gurdaspur had witnessed a terror attack last year while an attack was carried out at Pathankot Airforce station in the neighbouring district this year.