Carjackers arrested, PWD staff included

SHILLONG, DEC 8: In a major breakthrough, Meghalaya police busted a gang of carjackers and arrested five of its members including a PWD employee even as police are probing their links with the NSCN.

“We have arrested three from Dimapur, Nagaland and two other including an employee of the PWD (Roads) from Byrnihat and Mawsynram,” East Khasi Hills Superintendent of Police (crime) Vivek Syiem told reporters on Monday.

The three arrested have been identified as Hinoto Zhimo (24), Ngukata (2) and Atomu Aye (22) who was apprehended from Dimapur during an operation conducted by district police with the assistant of Nagaland police and were brought to Shillong, Syiem informed.

The other two gang members arrested from the state were Amit Saha and Jagdish Singh, a grade IV employee of the PWD (roads) posted at Mawsynram.

Their arrest was based on the two FIRs lodged on October 11 and November 6, where a tourist Scorpio vehicle (ML 05 K 5471) and an Innove tourist vehicle (ML 05 L 7174) were hired from parking lot, Polo and Laitumkhrah area but where carjacked at gun point once it reached Dimapur.

According to Syiem, in the past two months, there have been many cases where tourist vehicles were booked from here (Shillong) to Dimapur and were carjacked at gun point. In some cased the drivers are not found or had been assaulted at gun point.

Syiem said, “The modus operandi of the gang is to pose themselves as passengers and hijacked the vehicles at gun point and the gang has admitted their involvement not only in these cases but also in other cases which were registered in various police stations in Assam and Meghalaya.”

Syiem revealed that Jagdish Singh is instrumental in providing the gang member all logistic support and information about police movements and identification of vulnerable vehicles.

Syiem also said the weapons these gang members used belong to the militant outfit – NSCN in Nagaland adding they must have borrowed the weapons from them.

On their link with the outfit, Syiem said, “They may be having some link but we are yet to establish their linkage with the outfit.”

All the accused have been remanded to six days police custody and are booked under section related to robbery case.

Syiem also rued that despite several advisory issued earlier, drivers have floated the advisories by continuing to pick up passengers from outside the designated parking lot.

“We have decided to call a meeting with the tourist association to ensure that lifting of passengers should be done from the designated parking lot where all details of the passengers should be recorded besides taking snap shot of the passengers to ensure safety of drivers,” Syiem said.

Syiem further reiterated that drivers should never accept any food or eateries such as beetle nuts (kwai) from passengers. He said, “Most of the cases, it is found that items offered to driver contain sedative to  make them an easy for hijacking the vehicle. He disclosed that most of these vehicles which are stolen are being transported to a place in Manipur.

According to Syiem, the gang members who are young and quite savvy and know how to use different applications to execute the crime. Before the carjacking takes place, a detailed photograph of the vehicle is also being uploaded in watsapp among the gang members.

Syiem termed the arrest of the gang as a major breakthrough and said this will bring back the confidence of drivers as they will be assured that these gangs have been apprehended.- By Our Reporter