Arrest showroom looters within week, traders tell Rewari police

Local traders are up in arms against the district police for its “failure” in nabbing three miscreants who had looted a jewellery showroom at Bawal town here a week ago.

Office-bearers of various trade unions, farm and social organisations held a panchayat at Bawal on Saturday and served a seven-day ultimatum to the police for arresting the looters.

They also threatened to hold another panchayat on November 25 if the police fail to meet their demand by November 24.

On November 11, three bike-borne unidentified masked miscreants had barged into a jewellery shop at Katla market in Bawal and looted cash, gold and silver ornaments at pistol point.

They also shot at the son of the showroom owner when the latter opposed them. The looters easily managed to flee from the spot with the booty on the motorbike.

The incident has made the local traders and other residents insecure as the miscreants are still out of the police net. Though the CCTV cameras installed near the spot captured the movement of looters, the police have not yet succeeded in nabbing them. Hence, the panchayat was organised to build pressure on the police for speedy action, said a local trader.

“At the panchayat, the police sought some time from us claiming that the miscreants have been identified and raids are being conducted at their possible hideouts to nab them. So we gave them a week for arresting the looters,” Naresh Kumar Jaildar, president, Bawal unit of Haryana Beopar Mandal, told The Tribune.

He claimed that they would be compelled to hold another panchayat at Bawal on November 25 and people from all 84 villages falling under the Bawal Assembly segment would be invited to flag the issue at the state level if the looters are not arrested by November 24.

Ram Kisan Mehlawat, a farm leader, said Bawal MLA Dr Krishan Kumar also joined the panchayat and told the police officials to make all possible efforts to arrest the miscreants at the earliest.

“I have talked to the SP who has assured me of nabbing the miscreants within a couple of days as some vital leads about their identities and whereabouts have been obtained,” said the MLA.

Inspector Lajpat, SHO, Bawal police station, told The Tribune that the investigation was going in the right direction and the miscreants would be behind bars soon.