2 hotels, vehicles vandalised, guests thrashed in Zirakpur

Zirakpur, July 28

More than 24 miscreants vandalised two hotels and several cars parked there around 11:30 pm last night. Guests, who confronted the vandals, were reportedly thrashed and their vehicles damaged.

The police have arrested four persons and booked 18 in the case. Those booked have been identified as Nikhil Chaudhary, Baaz and Brahman Rana of Banur; Chetan, Vishal and Jassi of Dhakoli; and Samma, Kapil, Kuldeep, Rakesh, Deepak, Channi, Harpreet, Prince, Lokesh, Sahil Thakur and Deepak of Zirakpur. A case under Sections 309(4), 310(2), 308(2), 331(6) and 111 of the BNS has been registered at the Zirakpur police station.

Praveen Kumar, owner of Hotel G Plaza on the Zirakpur-Chandigarh road and Hotel New Style near the barrier, alleged that a group of persons had demanded Rs 50,000 per month of extortion money. When he refused, they went on a rampage, vandalising his hotels and cars parked outside.

He alleged that a person had created a ruckus in the hotels on July 21 and July 24, and threatened the manager, after which bouncers were deployed in the hotels.

Today, a group, armed with sticks and rods, came in cars and bikes. They parked their vehicles some distance away and vandalised the hotel reception, furniture, an LED set and also attacked guests.

The hotel owners’ association has demanded stringent action against the miscreants and demanded security against extortionists. The incident is said to be the fallout of a tussle between two groups of extortionists. Investigating officer Jaswant Singh, along with a police team, reached the spot and began investigation.

There have been many cases of extortion attempts by gangsters in Zirakpur in the past.

On July 18, 2022, around 10 hoteliers complained to the police that they were forced to pay varying sums as extortion to the Ankit Rana gang. A day earlier, the Zirakpur police and the Anti-Gangster Task Force had nabbed three members of the Bhupi Rana gang from Baltana after a shootout. They had come on two motorcycles to collect Rs 50,000 monthly “protection money” from hotel owner Faizal.

Gangster Bhupi Rana was running an extortion racket from jail through Ankit Rana.

On April 21, 2022, the police booked three persons for usurping the hotel of a Panchkula businessman and threatening to kill him.