Mandi Gobindgarh man robbed of SUV in Mohali, four booked

A man lost his Mahindra Thar car to four robbers near Sohana Hospital in the wee hours of Sunday.
Victim Deepak Aggarwal of Mandi Gobindgarh told police that he had come to Mohali to meet someone. At the time of the incident, he was accompanied by a female in his car when the four carjackers, driving a Maruti car, intercepted his vehicle around 3 am. The incident was captured in a nearby CCTV camera.
In the CCTV footage, Aggarwal, a property dealer by profession, was seen having long altercation with the accused before they took off with his vehicle.
Police said as per the victim it was initially a case of road rage as he had mistakenly bumped his car into the accused’s vehicle. Enraged with the incident, the accused intercepted him near Sohana hospital, exchanging heated arguments for over 15 minutes. After vacating the victim’s car of its occupants, they eventually fled with both the vehicles.
Police said the victim then called his friend at the spot and informed the police following which a PCR and Sohana police reached the spot.
Meanwhile police are also looking at a honey trap angle and also investigating the woman’s role in the incident.
A senior police officer said the investigators have collected vital clues about the accused and the suspects are likely to be arrested soon.
“It is not exactly a case of carjacking as the victim and accused initially had an argument, following which the accused took his car. Our teams are tracing them through CCTV’s and human intelligence and they will soon land in police net. However, it is also possible that it was a case of honey trap,” a senior police officer said.
A case under Section 309 (robbery) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) was registered.
However, Mohali SSP Deepak Pareek said an investigation in the case was underway. “We are making sincere efforts to curb street crimes as we have identified the snatching hotspots and are in the process of installing CCTV cameras. Regular patrolling is also being done under the supervision of senior police officers. Once the accused get arrested, things will be clear if the accused stopped him with an aim of car snatching or not.”
This is the second car robbery in less than 10 days after a local resident was robbed of his car and a mobile phone at gunpoint by four people in Sector 86, Mohali, on October 26 morning. Sohana police had booked four people, including a woman, in this case.
Past carjacking incidents
October 7: A cab driver was robbed of his car and a mobile phone by two men posing as passengers at gunpoint near the Sector 85-86 chowk in Mohali around 4 am. The accused were arrested by the police
September 29: Three men robbed a taxi driver of his cab in a service lane near Chatt light point in Zirakpur. The accused were later arrested.
July 21: A cab driver was robbed of his car, two mobiles and ₹2,400 by four men posing as passengers near Delhi Public School, Chappar Chiri, in the wee hours of Sunday. The accused were arrested.