4 robbers held after encounter in Patti; fifth dies of drug overdose
More than 100 rounds of fire were exchanged in the gunfight that left two policemen and the four accused wounded with bullet injuries
3 SOPHISTICATED COUNTRY-MADE PISTOLS, ₹83,000, NARCOTICS AND TWO CARS — A MARUTI SUZUKI SWIFT DZIRE AND A RENAULT PULSE — CONFISCATED
TARN TARAN : Four robbers were arrested after an hourlong encounter on the outskirts of Patti city in Tarn Taran district on Monday. Police said the fifth member of the gang died due to suspected drug overdose during the encounter.
More than 100 rounds of fire were exchanged in the encounter that left two policemen and the four accused wounded with bullet injuries. All injured are undergoing treatment at various hospitals in Tarn Taran.
The incident took place at 11am when the accused were on their way from Patti to Tarn Taran, the police said, adding the accused, who faced around 50 criminal cases in Amritsar and Tarn Taran, Ludhiana, Jalandhar and Rupnagar districts, had committed seven robberies in the past 24 hours.
Weapons, drugs seized from accused
Those arrested have been identified as Gurjinder Singh of Manakpura village, Rajbir Singh, alias Raju, of Gandiwind, Gurpreet Singh of Bhullar
village, and Jagjit Singh, alias Jaggi, of Naushehra Pannuan village. The fifth member, who died during the encounter, was identified as Gurmeet Singh, alias Gopi, of Jatta village in Tarn Taran.
Though all four arrested accused were injured, Gurmeet was not harmed physically, said police. All accused are in their 30s, the police said, adding that three sophisticated country-made pistols, Rs 83,000, narcotics, including opium, smack and 700 intoxicating pills, and two cars, a
Maruti Suzuki Swift Dzire and a Renault Pulse, were confiscated.
Constables Sarabjit Singh and Bikramjit Singh are undergoing treatment.
Spate of robberies, carjacking
Senior superintendent of police Dhruman H Nimbale said robberies were reported from petrol stations in Tarn Taran on Sunday.
Two of incidents of carjacking were reported at Sarhali and Chohla Sahib on Monday
morning.
“We had information that the accused were on their way from Patti to Tarn Taran. A team led by station house officer (SHO) Patti city, Lakhbir Singh confronted the accused at which they opened fire in which constable Sarabjit Singh, who was driving the car, was hit by a bullet in his rib. After this, an exchange of fire ensued, and our team caught two of the five accused,” said the SSP.
He said, “Three of the five accused fled and hid in Mahi resort near Kairon village where a marriage function was underway. The area was cordoned off and a heavy police force from the district, including the superintendent of police (SPs) and deputy superintendent of police (DSPs), was deployed to arrest the accused. They continued firing from their hideout in the palace towards the police team. Around 80 rounds were fired.”
“These three accused also got bullet injuries and they were asked to surrender after they ran out of ammunition,” he said.
On Sunday, the accused had looted nearly Rs 2 lakh from five petrol stations and a car at gunpoint.
The petrol pump at Bhikhiwind was looted in which an employee was shot at by the accused.
Similarly, a chemist shop and a car were robbed by the accused on Monday morning.
A case under Sections 307, 332, 148, 149, 353, 186 of the IPC and 25-54-59 of the Arms Act at Patti city police station.
The SSP said a board of doctors will conduct the post-mortem.