Patiala ki Rao mishap victim had taken cab after first day at work

Amit Sharma

Chandigarh, July 7

Twenty six-year-old Pooja, a Pinjore resident, was returning home after her first day at work in Mohali when she reportedly got washed away in Patiala ki Rao on Wednesday.

Pritpal Singh, a resident of Shiv Shakti Colony, Pinjore, in a complaint to the police claimed Pooja, his foster sister, used to stay at his house. “On July 5, she had left for office around 6 pm. It was her first day at a company in Phase-VII, Mohali,” he claimed. Pritpal said he had called up Pooja around 4.30 am on the intervening night of July 5 and 6 to ask whether she had left the office or not. “She told me she had booked a cab and was on her way home,” claimed Pritpal.

Last words: Car stuck in slush

• Pinjore resident Pritpal Singh claimed as it was Pooja’s first day at office, he rang her up around 4.30 am after her shift got over. Pooja told him she had booked a cab for Pinjore
• Pritpal called up again around 5.30 am to check on her, and she replied the cab had got stuck in slush and that they were trapped. She failed to answer subsequent calls

Around 5.30 am, he again rang up Pooja to enquire about her whereabouts and she replied her cab had got stuck in slush and that they were trapped. “Ideally, the cab driver should have taken the Chandigarh-Panchkula route to reach Pinjore. However, he took a wrong route,” he said.

As per the complainant, he called again around 6 am, but Pooja failed to answer it. “I tried calling repeatedly, but nobody answered. Around 7.30 am, her phone got switched off,” he said.

In the morning, Priptal lodged a missing person’s complaint at the Pinjore police station. A case under Section 346 (wrongful confinement) of the IPC was registered.

Pritpal claimed according to his foster sister, she was alone in the cab, but there were reports of a third person in the car, which was surprising. “The cab driver might have asked someone for help when they got stuck,” he added.