MOHALI, Nov 9 – Four men accused of robbing a private company employee of his smartphone at gunpoint were arrested by the Balongi police following swift investigation into an incident that took place near Chhapar Chiri on November 1.
The victim, 28-year-old Aniket Chhabra, told police he was riding back to his village on a friend’s motorcycle around 3:55 a.m. when he noticed three men standing by the road. “They stopped me suddenly, pushed me off the bike, and hit me. One of them took out a weapon and threatened to shoot,” Chhabra said in his complaint. The robbers escaped with his iPhone 12 soon after.
Within days, the police tracked down the accused using a mix of local intelligence and technical surveillance. SHO Kulwant Singh confirmed that all four were arrested in a joint operation led by ASI Lakhbir Singh.
The suspects have been identified as Sandeep from Haryana, Vinod Kumar of Kaithal, Anmol Deep of Balongi, and Amrinder Singh from Sector 50, Chandigarh. During interrogation, officers learned that the group had earlier worked as helpers on film shooting sets.
DSP Karan Sandhu noted that two of the men have prior criminal records. “They seemed to have turned to petty crime after losing work on film sets,” he said.
The police recovered a country-made pistol and the motorcycle used in the robbery. Officials have registered a case under Sections 126(2), 351(2), 310(2) (related to dacoity), and 309(1) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), in addition to sections of the Arms Act.
“The operation was swift, and recovery was made without any confrontation,” ASI Singh said. Investigators are now verifying if the accused were involved in similar incidents reported in nearby areas.
