4-5 men in car snatch police stn sentry’s SLR

Bathinda: A group of 4-5 men travelling in a in black-coloured Skoda snatched a self-loading rifle (SLR) from a sentry posted outside Bathinda Cantt Police Station — located adjacent to the Bathinda military station — around 3.30 am on Friday. Before snatching the firearm, the accused allegedly opened fire at Bhucho, a short distance away from the crime spot. The accused had not been apprehended till the filing of the report in the evening.It is learnt that when the car reached near the Bathinda Cantt police station, the sentry signalled them to stop, but the person behind the wheel tried to mow him down and then the group snatched his rifle and sped off towards Bathinda. The police raised the alarm and followed them, but they managed to escape. This incident comes barely four months after an Army gunner, Desai Mohan, had on April 12 shot dead four of his sleeping colleagues with a stolen Insas rifle inside Bathinda military military station due to personal animosity.Bathinda SSP Gulneet Singh Khurana said that police are looking for the rifle snatchers and a case has been registered against unidentified miscreants.