SUV robbed at gunpoint by two during test drive

THE SHOWROOM EMPLOYEES DIDN’T DEMAND THE ACCUSED’S LICENCE BEFORE THE TEST DRIVE, SAY THE POLICE

AMRITSAR: An unidentified masked man on Thursday looted a brand new sport utility vehicle (SUV) at gunpoint from an employee of Tata Motors on pretext of its test drive near the Manawala village falling under the Chatiwind police station.

The incident took place at around 3 pm when the accused while wearing a face mask had entered the Tata Motors’ showroom situated on the Amritsar-Jalandhar national highway near the Golden Gate and asked for the test drive of a Tata Safari SUV. According to police, the showroom employees didn’t ask for the pretended customer’s driving licence and other mandatory documents required for allowing a test drive. An employee of the showroom, Jobanjeet Singh, was sent along with the accused for the test drive, police said.

Jobanjeet said, “When we reached near the bridge which diverts the highway towards Tarn Taran side, the accused pointed a .32 bore pistol and snatched my mobile phone. He offered me to take back my phone and asked to leave the car, but I asked him to give the vehicle. However, soon the accused fled with the car and my mobile.”

Deputy superintendent of police (DSP-Attari) Parvesh Chopra said, “The showroom employees didn’t demand the accused’s licence before issuing the test drive. Even the vehicle which was robbed was without any registration number. The accused was wearing a face mask.” He said, “Our teams are working to trace the vehicle. We have also procured some closed circuit television footages providing leads to identify the accused. We are hopeful of arresting the accused any time soon.” A case has been registered at the Chatiwind police station.