Carjackers posing as hitchhikers on prowl

PANCHKULA: Entertaining a hitchhiker at night is not a safe idea, even if he is alone, as there are car-jackers on prowl on highways around the city. Three members of one such car-jacking gang confessed their crime and revealed the strategy of asking for a lift and striking at a person to rob his car when the Panchkula police nabbed them from Panchkula-Zirakpur highway.
They had robbed Sector 21 resident from Panchkula Vinay Kumar of his sedan car, laptop and cash near Sector 12 on Panchkula-Zirakpur highway on June 26. Mastermind of the gang Harry is on the run, but the other three- Harjeet, Daljinder and Sukhdev- were arrested by the police on the same route while looking for a vulnerable prey. Harjeet hails from Hoshiarpur, Daljinder from Gurdaspur and Sukhdev from Mansa.
"One of them used to wear a look of a student with spectacles and ask for lift or stop drivers for some query. Once the vehicle stopped, others would strike pointing a pistol at the driver," said Deepak Kumar of Panchkula detective staff, who cracked this case.
He added, "These unemployed friends tried getting into the driving business, but could not succeed, gradually giving up the lure of making easy money with crime."
The police are suspecting some more gang members function on other routes.