Punjab: Cricketer Suresh Raina's 'relative' killed in attack by robbers
Chandigarh: A 58-year-old man said to be a relative of cricketer Suresh Raina died while four members of his family sustained injuries allegedly in an attack by robbers in Punjab's Pathankot district.
The deceased has been identified as Ashok Kumar, a government contractor.
According to police, the incident took place at Thariyal village in Punjab's Pathankot on the night intervening on August 19 and 20.
Though some media reporters suggested that Kumar is a relative of Raina, a senior police officer said they can't confirm it as of now.
According to them, three to four members of the notorious Kale Kachhewala gang had come with an intention to loot, attacked Ashok Kumar and his family members at their house in Thariyal village near Madhopur of Pathankot.
At the time of the attack, they were sleeping at the terrace of their house.
Ashok Kumar, who had suffered head injuries, died while the others sustained injuries, said police.
Kumar's death was also confirmed by Pathankot Senior Superintendent of Police Gulneet Singh Khurana.
As far as Kumar's relation with cricketer Raina is concerned, the SSP said he has no confirmation about it. He may be a relative, he said.
We are investigating the matter, said the SSP.
According to police, robbers decamped with some cash and gold from the house.
Kumar's 80-year-old mother Satya Devi, his wife Asha Devi, sons Apin and Kaushal suffered injuries, said police.
While Satya Devi has been discharged from hospital, others are still undergoing treatment, said Pathankot Superintendent of Police Prabhjot Singh Virk.
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Traffic fraud: Fake 'no-entry' sticker racket busted in Delhi, mastermind among 3 held
New Delhi (PTI): Police here have busted a crime syndicate involved in traffic fraud and extortion, arresting three people including the alleged mastermind who sold fake stickers to help commercial vehicles bypass no-entry restrictions, an official said on Saturday.
The police said they dismantled a third organised syndicate linked to traffic-related frauds, with the arrest of Rinku Rana alias Bhushan, his associate Sonu Sharma and Mukesh Kumar alias Pakodi, who was also connected to another extortion syndicate.
According to the police, Rinku Rana was running a well-organised network that facilitated the movement of commercial goods vehicles during restricted hours by selling fake 'marka' or stickers for Rs 2,000 to Rs 5,000 per vehicle every month. The stickers were falsely projected as authorisation to evade traffic challans.
During raids, the police recovered Rs 31 lakh in cash, property documents worth several crores of rupees, over 500 fake stickers and six mobile phones allegedly used to operate the syndicate.
The crackdown followed a complaint filed by a traffic police officer in April this year after a commercial vehicle tried to evade checking by producing a fake sticker claiming exemption from enforcement action.
Investigation revealed that social media groups were being used to coordinate the illegal movement of vehicles and alert drivers about traffic police checkpoints, police said.
"A parallel system was being run to cheat drivers and vehicle owners while undermining traffic enforcement. On the basis of evidence, provisions related to organised crime under the BNS were invoked," a senior police officer said.
Sonu Sharma, the police said, managed social media groups through which stickers were sold and real-time alerts were circulated regarding traffic police movement. He also acted as a link between Rana and drivers operating in the field.
In a related development, Mukesh Kumar alias Pakodi, an associate of Rajkumar alias Raju Meena, who was earlier arrested under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA), was also apprehended.
Mukesh allegedly helped extort money from transporters and was involved in blackmailing traffic police personnel by recording enforcement actions, the police said.
Investigators alleged the syndicate led by Rajkumar deployed drivers to deliberately violate traffic rules and secretly record police officials during challans, later using manipulated videos to extort money under threat of false allegations.
The police said that in total, eight accused belonging to three different organised crime syndicates linked to traffic frauds and extortion have been arrested so far.
Further investigation is underway to trace the remaining members, conduct financial probes, and analyse digital evidence recovered during the raids, officials added.
