An Indian Sikh family visiting Lahore during Baba Guru Nanak’s birth anniversary celebrations was robbed on Wednesday while shopping.
Police claimed to be making all-out efforts to nab the culprits that looted the Sikh family on Lahore’s posh MM Alam Road in Gulberg. They also claim to have collected CCTV footage of the location and recorded witnesses’ statements.
Police say they have located the robbers, who will be arrested soon.
According to the footage, two suspected robbers were on board a white car. They stopped the Sikh family on the pretext of checking their documents. One of the suspects was clad in a police uniform and the other was in plain clothes.
They pressurised the Sikh pilgrims to produce their documents while sitting in their car, as per the CCTV footage. During checking, they snatched a Sikh woman’s bag that contained cash, jewellery and other valuables.
The family could be seen in the footage running after the suspects’ car after the incident.
The police have reportedly registered a case into the robbery, but not included relevant sections in the FIR. Allegedly, the report includes sections of fraud instead of robbery. According to the FIR, the suspects were armed.
The report further says that the robbers made off with 150,000 Indian rupees, Rs300,000, jewellery and valuable watches.
Caretaker Punjab Chief Minister Mohsin Naqvi has taken notice of the robbery and ordered to beef up the security of the visiting Sikhs. He has sought a report from the Lahore capital city police officer, and also ordered the police to arrest the culprits in 48 hours after identifying them through CCTV footage.
He remarked that the Sikh family being robbed in an area like Gulberg was sheer negligence. He also sympathised with the visiting pilgrims.
