Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Apr 22: Ramban police have arrested two persons including a cloth merchant of Banihal for plotting fake truck accident to swindle clothes, curtains etc of an Amritsar based company worth Rs 80 lakh. The accused had dumped most of the clothes, being transported in a truck from Amritsar to Jammu, at Sidhra and threw the truck in Chenab at Ramban on Jammu-Srinagar National Highway to show that entire material was washed away in the river.
During investigations of the “truck accident’’, police unearthed the entire mystery and arrested the truck driver and a cloth merchant of Banihal. Entire goods dumped by them at a rented house at Sidhra have been recovered.
SSP Ramban Anil Magotra told the Excelsior that a truck No. 8679 JK02AA met with an “accident’’ at Maroog under the jurisdiction of Ramban police station on Jammu-Srinagar National Highway on April 10. The truck had rolled down about 800 meters deep into the gorge.
No one was reported dead or injured in the truck, which created doubts in the minds of police officers.
Police later identified the truck driver as Mohammad Iqbal Naik son of Ghulam Nabi Naik, a resident of Nagam, Banihal and subjected him to sustained interrogation during which he spilled the beans.
The driver disclosed that he had loaded 179 bundles of shawls, curtains and other clothing material from National Roadways Transport Company, Amritsar, which were to be delivered to their Srinagar office.
However, as a part of prior conspiracy hatched by the driver along with two other accused including Bahar Ahmad Wani son of Mohammad Abdullah Wani, a cloth merchant and resident of Duligam, Banihal and Shah Nawaz Ahmad Khanday, a live stock merchant son of Mohammad Ramzan Khanday R/o Duligam.
They took the house of Shah Nawaz on rent at Sidhra, Jammu and dumped most of the clothing material these after transporting it from Amritsar on April 8. They left few bundles in the truck and drove it to Ramban. Getting an opportunity, the driver threw the truck in river Chenab to make it an accident and show that entire material was washed away in the river.
They had planned to sell the material in the market later and distribute the cash among themselves and also claim insurance for the accident.
Police have arrested the truck driver Mohammad Iqbal Naik and cloth merchant Bahar Ahmad Wani and registered a case against them for further investigations. During investigations, Ramban police found that the truck driver was hardened criminal and three FIRs had already been registered against him including the one under 4/5 Explosive Act at Batote police station and another one at Mattan police station.
In the present case, the truck driver and cloth merchant have been booked under Sections 407, 420 and 120-B RPC.
Investigations in the case were conducted by SHO Ramban Ravinder Parihar under the supervision of DIG Doda-Ramban range Ashkoor Wani and SSP Ramban Anil Magotra.
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