Robbers still at large
Excelsior Correspondent
SAMBA, June 16: Bari Brahmana police has recovered 70 quintals of steel (iron bars) out of 120 quintals used for construction purposes from a secluded area in Bishnah which was looted by some goons in Bari Brahmana area during intervening night of April 9 and 10 this year.
The police has also identified the people who were responsible for looting the full truck material after thrashing its driver at Bari Brahmana and driven the truck to a secluded area in Bishnah tehsil.
After looting the full truck load of steel and dumping the material at a secluded place they abandoned the truck somewhere in Bishnah. The truck was recovered by police next day but there was neither any clue of looted steel nor the people involved in this act.
Police said that after hectic investigation it came to know through the reliable source that the steel was deposited in a secluded area in Bishnah near a river bank. The police swung into action and rushed a team to the area led by SHO Bari Brahmana, Rakesh Sharma. However it only could recover 70 quintals of Steel while rest is yet to be traced.
Police said it has also identified the people who looted the truck and launched a manhunt to arrest them and to recover the remaining quantity of steel.
It may be recalled that during intervening night of April 9 and 10 this year, a full truck load of steel from Kashmir Steel Industry, Bari Brahmana in Samba district was on way to Chenani in Udhampur district but soon after leaving the industrial area it was looted by some goons after thrashing the driver and throwing him down from the truck. They drove the truck towards Bishnah side and after unloading the steel at a secluded place abandoned the vehicle far away from the place where the steel was dumped.
The police had recovered the truck few days later but could not trace the steel and the people who looted the truck and since then it was on the job. Police said it has sent its teams in different directions and later through a reliable source it came to know that a large quantity of steel was dumped near a river in Bishnah tehsil. A police team rushed to the spot and recovered the material from there.
Khem Singh, son of Major Singh had registered a case at Bari Brahmana Police Station that some robbers attacked him and drove the truck with 12 tonnes of steel (iron bars) to an unknown place after thrashing him and throwing him down from the vehicle.