GURUGRAM: Police in Gurugram have busted a gang of carjackers that operated in the city and was led by a village sarpanch from Jhajjar. The accused along with his gang members used to steal high-end cars and sell them in other states, police said on Thursday.
The gang of three carjackers was led by the sarpanch of Haryana’s Gola village, the cops added. One member of the gang, Lokesh Sehrawat, has been arrested, they said.
An officer said the gang targets cars in isolated areas of Gurugram and Jhajjar. The other two members are on the run.
Jaipal Dhankar (32) was elected the village sarpanch in 2016. A few years ago, he was named in a double murder case in Jhajjar, but was not convicted due to absence of evidence. He also has cases registered against him for looting a liquor shop and attacking policemen.
The case came to fore when on Sunday night, Dhankar and his gang robbed a 34-year-old businessman of his Creta at gunpoint in Sector 102.
The victim at that time was standing near his car as he was overseeing construction materials get loaded on a truck. The accused snatched his key and when he tried to raise an alarm, they threatened to kill him. They then sped off with his car.
“After receiving the complaint, we rushed to the spot and tried to stop the accused but they sped off,” said ACP (Crime) Preet Pal Sangwan. A case was then registered.
During investigation, they found that the accused had come in a Fortuner. They then nabbed Sehrawat on Wednesday. Lokesh has been to jail twice before this incident. He told the police that Dhankar was the mastermind.
The Fortuner used in the crime belongs to Dhankar. “Dhankar has sold his SUV to a Delhi-based businessman last year but the vehicle was not transferred in the name of the new owner. After taking all the money, he stole the same vehicle from Delhi. A case related to the car is registered in Delhi,” said ACP.
Efforts are on to arrest the other two criminals, the police added.