Robbery on Delhi-Meerut Expressway
A Meerut businessman, identified as Gillaman, was robbed at gunpoint on the Delhi-Meerut Expressway on Friday evening, police said. The incident occurred around 8 pm under the jurisdiction of Wave City police station in Ghaziabad, according to The Times of India.
Gillaman, a resident of Meerut’s Lohiya Nagar, was travelling from Meerut to Jafrabad in Delhi with his cousin Samad and relative Saleem. He had left Meerut around 5 pm and reached the Dasna stretch of the expressway about two hours later, when a Mahindra Scorpio overtook his Mahindra Thar several times before its driver signalled him to stop.
The attack
According to Gillaman’s account, five men got out of the Scorpio and began searching the Thar, while another car stopped behind. The suspects claimed they were looking for their sister, whom they said had been kidnapped for marriage. When Gillaman told them they had stopped the wrong vehicle, the situation turned violent.
Gillaman told The Times of India that the men pulled out a pistol and pointed it at his head. When his cousin tried to intervene, the attackers allegedly hit him with the butt of a revolver. The men then searched the vehicle and found a bag containing Rs 25 lakh, which they took before fleeing.
The assault lasted around 10 minutes, during which two men kept guns pointed at Gillaman’s head, he said. The incident unfolded on the busy expressway, with other vehicles continuing to move around the Thar.
Police response
Priyashri Pal, assistant commissioner of police (ACP), Ghaziabad, said, “We have detained three people and seized two cars, including the SUV used in the crime.” The ACP added that the suspects and others related to the case are being interrogated, and efforts are underway to nab those involved.
Police said the suspects arrived in an SUV on Friday and robbed the man while blaming him of “abducting a woman known to them”. An investigator, requesting anonymity, said, “On the pretext of checking their vehicle, the suspects put them at gunpoint and assaulted them. They took away ₹25 lakh from their possession and fled the spot.”
The victim called the police on 112 after the robbery, and on Saturday a case of robbery under sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita was registered at the Wave City police station. Police formed five teams to investigate.
Investigation
CCTV footage showed the accused following Gillaman from Meerut in two cars, a Scorpio and a Swift, according to The Times of India. Police suspect the suspects were following the victims from Meerut to rob them. Because the victims used to visit Delhi frequently with large amounts of cash, police believe it is the handiwork of someone known to them.
The police also noted a similar incident on May 6, when armed men hijacked a cash van near an HP petrol pump on NH-9 and escaped with nearly Rs 27 lakh.