Accused eludes police, crosses Vadodara toll plaza

AMRITSAR: The mystery behind kidnapping of an assistant professor of Guru Nanak Dev University (GNDU) has deepened with the latest closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage showing the accused, Jazzinder Singh Virk, alias Garry, of Kharar in Mohali crossing the Vadodara toll plaza in Gujarat.

The accused crossed the toll plaza around 11pm on Monday in his Honda City (CH-03-K0012) alone. Police had earlier procured CCTV footage of the accused crossing the Delhi-jaipur toll plaza in which front seats of the car were captured and the accused was seen driving alone. The footage led to various theories, including that the victim may have been killed. The only hope then was that the victim, Sukhpreet Kaur, 31, of Baghapurana in Moga district, could have been on the back seat.

When asked why the police have not been able to nab him despite tracking his location, Amritsar Superintendent of police (SP) said: “Our teams are chasing him. We are tracking his location with the help of CCTV footage from tolls, but he remains a few hours ahead of us.”

“We intimated Chandigarh, Delhi and Jaipur police, but it was late as he had already crossed the toll plazas there. But we are constantly in touch with the police of other states and he will be nabbed soon,” the SP added.

Police said Garry’s phone is not reachable and now he has also switched off the victim’s phone, which he used to make a ransom call to her parents, said police.

Sukhpreet, assistant professor in Hindi (ad hoc) was allegedly kidnapped on September 11 when she had gone to meet Garry at a restaurant near the GNDU campus. The kidnapping was reported on Friday when Sukhpreet’s father received a ₹3-lakh ransom call from her phone. The kidnapper later enhanced the ransom to ₹30 lakh.

The case took a new turn on Saturday when the police found a letter from Sukhpreet’s hostel room on the university campus in which she said she was going to meet Garry at Chocolate Room or Subway, both eating joints, located in the market opposite the university. They eventually met at Chocolate Room. She also mentioned Garry’s address, phone number and names of his parents, saying that he borrowed money from her and she was going to collect the amount. She wrote that Garry would be responsible if anything happened to her.

Sources said that accused, who deals in share market, is engaged with a Rupnagar woman.

The police there have already questioned Garry’s prospective wife and in-laws, while the Mohali police have questioned his father, who retired as a driver from the Punjab governor house.