The two accused in the Sector 11 shooting case, who were arrested from Rajouri in Jammu and Kashmir yesterday, suffered bullet injuries as they tried to escape from police custody near the Dhanas forest area here this morning.
Both accused, 22-year-old Sunny Mehra and 19-year-old Aryan Sharma, were arrested from Rajouri four days after they shot dead 45-year-old Janki Das, a cashier at Shree Kumar Medical Hall. They were being brought to Chandigarh.
When the police cavalcade reached the Dhanas forest area, a driver nodded off due to fatigue and rammed the vehicle into a tree. Both accused tried to take advantage of the situation and one of them grabbed a pistol, which had fallen from a police officer’s holster. He fired two shots at the police.
The cops retaliated and both accused were shot in the leg. They were rushed to the Government Multi-Speciality Hospital, Sector 16.
“Acting upon credible intelligence and evidence collected during the investigation, the UT police teams conducted raids at multiple locations in Punjab, Delhi and Jammu & Kashmir. Sunny (Mehra) and Aryan (Sharma) were arrested in Jammu & Kashmir around 7:30 pm on Wednesday,” said Pushpendra Kumar, Inspector General of Police (IGP), Chandigarh.
When asked about the recovery of weapons used in the crime and motive behind the cashier’s murder, the IGP said the investigation was still not over. After the June 13 incident, the UT police formed a special investigation team (SIT) comprising officers from the Crime Branch, Operations Cell, District Crime Cell and the Sector 11 police station. “The special investigation team carried out an extensive investigation involving CCTV footage analysis, technical surveillance, intelligence gathering
and coordinated raids across Chandigarh, Punjab, Delhi and Jammu & Kashmir. During the investigation, it emerged that the accused had arrived in Chandigarh on a stolen motorcycle bearing a Punjab registration number,” said the IGP. After killing the cashier, the accused boarded a bus to Delhi from the ISBT, Sector 43, and reached Jammu & Kashmir by train. “While the accused were being brought to Chandigarh for further legal proceedings toady, a police vehicle met with an accident (approximately between 4:30 am and 5 am). Some police personnel sustained injuries and the service weapon of a police official fell on the ground. Taking advantage of the situation, accused Sunny (Mehra) picked up the service weapon. Despite repeated warnings by the police party, he opened fire at police personnel. The accused fired two rounds, which struck a police vehicle. The police party initially fired a warning shot. When the accused continued with their attempt to escape, the police retaliated in self-defence. Four rounds were fired by the police,” added the IGP.
While Mehra opened fire at the cashier, Sharma helped the two assailants escape on a motorcycle. Mehra, who hails from Samba district, Jammu & Kashmir, is reportedly known to Sharma, a resident of Sarhoti, Rajouri. The third accused, Amit Kumar, also a resident of Samba district, accompanied Mehra inside the medical hall. He was also carrying a pistol.
Last evening, Canada-based gangster Goldy Dhillon, via an audio note, had threaten the UT police with dire consequences if they harmed the accused.
