M A I N   N E W S

Dacoits kill NRI, injure 7
From Varinder Singh
Tribune News Service

PHAGWARA, March 7 — Terror benumbed residents for more than three hours as a group of dacoits today struck in the Green Park area and adjoining localities here in the wee hours hacked a non-resident Indian to death and injured seven others before fleeing with cash and jewellery worth lakhs of rupees.

It was a nightmare for the residents of the Green Park and Chak Hakimpura localities along the GT Road who were attacked by group of eight to 10 dacoits, armed with double-barrelled guns, lathis and iron rods. Apart from injuring innocent children and women, they attacked and killed Mr Parwinder Sharma, an NRI, with sharp-edged weapons as the latter who was present in the house of Mr Jaswant Rai, his father-in-law, had dared resist the miscreants, while they were beating up his family members. The victim was based in Canada and had planned to go back on March 10, family sources said.

The looting spree, according to the terror-struck residents, continued till 3 am when the police force reached the spot and cordoned off the area.

Eyewitnesses said the first victim of the miscreants was Mr Joga Singh, a gunman with the Central Bank of India and a resident of an upcoming locality on the outskirts of Chak Hakimpur village falling under Phagwara sadar police station. “I had a hunch that something was wrong when my dogs started barking. By the time I could react with my sword, eight or 10 persons of average height, armed with iron rods and double-barrelled guns had already forced their entry into my house. They started beating up my wife Parkash Kaur, son Lajwant Singh and daughter-in-law Gurdial Kaur, and injured all of them” said Joga Singh, Parkash Kaur, has been admitted to local Civil Hospital with 17 stitches on her head.

According to Joga Singh, from whose house the dacoits took away 12 tolas of gold, Rs 1700 in cash and some valuables, nobody from the locality came to their help”.As all this was going on, I sneaked out of the house from the back door to fetch some help from neighbours, but was unable to do that. When I returned along with a chowkidar of St Joseph’s Convent School and a Home Guard jawan posted there they had already fled the scene after firing two shots in the air to scare people around. Interestingly, some miscreants had attacked a school on January 6 in the same area.

The next target was the house of Inderjit Singh, a garment shop owner, in the Dashmesh Nagar locality. Inderjit Singh, his father Kulburn Singh were injured by the miscreants with some blunt weapon. Before leaving the house, they tied the feet of the two and took away some cash. They have been admitted to the local Civil Hospital.

They smashed the car of N.K. Likhi, an employee of Punjab National Bank Jalandhar.

The dacoits then entered the house of Harjit Kaur, wife of an NRI. Mrs Harjit Kaur, her son Manpreet Singh and daughter Amarjit Kaur were beaten up. They then tied Mr Khan, an employee of a straw shop near the house.

Then they entered the house of Mr Jaswant Rai, attacked his wife Sita Rani, daughter-in law Rekha Sharma and grand daughters Rashmi and Jasmine. Fearing the attackers, Jaswant Rai hid himself in a corner of the house, while Parwinder Sharma tried to prevent them from beating up his relatives. But in the process, he was attacked by the dacoits with sharp-edged weapons. He died on the spot. The docoits decamped with foreign currency worth Rs 15 lakh, 87 tolas of gold and some other valuables. The details of the loss were not available, said police sources. Parwinder’s body was handed over to his relatives in the afternoon.

Though most of the victims and residents were too terrified to speak, Mr Joga Singh said two police personnel reached his place at 2.30 am but they did nothing but asked for quilts and enjoyed a bonfire there till 4.30 am. However, the city SHO Ravel Singh, denied the allegation and said police reached the spot at 1.30 am and cordoned off the area. However, no one had been arrested according to initial reports. “We have detained two migrant labourers for interrogation,” said a city police station official. The SSP Mr Iqbal Singh, was not available for comments.

Meanwhile, a case has been registered under Sections 460/148/149/336 of the IPC and the police is working on the theory that it might be a handiwork of the same group of migrant labourers, which had been striking in different villages on the outskirts of Jalandhar and Phagwara.