Ludhiana: Frustrated by a surge in midnight muggings, a network of food delivery workers used live-location tracking to corner and thrash a group of alleged robbers in Dugri, sparking a legal showdown with police.While a woman lost her gold chain at her doorstep and couriers faced sword-wielding thieves, a group of drivers took a stand — only to land in custody and be caught in a cross-disciplinary dispute over vigilante justice after authorities accused them of roughing up suspects before verifying their involvement in a recent string of sword and knife attacks.Nearly 40 delivery riders, who use a WhatsApp group to track live locations for safety, mobilised around 2am on Friday to rescue a colleague, Manjot ‘Goldy’. The drivers claim they intercepted six armed men following Goldy near a temple in Dugri, catching hold of four suspects whom they “thrashed” before handing over to authorities.However, the intervention backfired legally. Additional deputy commissioner of police (II) Karanveer Singh stated that the delivery men now faced charges for assault. He said: “The drivers should have informed the police instead of taking the law into their own hands.”Delivery rider Mohammad Talib maintains the suspects were armed and had obscured their vehicle registration number plates with mud. The riders cite a string of recent attacks, including a sword assault on a colleague, Diffni Singla, on Wednesday and the robbery of ₹10,000 from a courier on April 28, as justification for their defensive posture.The unrest comes amid a broader surge in street crime. In Model Town Extension, a woman, Reema Chawla, was robbed of her gold chain at knifepoint while buying vegetables outside her home. Recent CCTV footage from Dugri also captured three men on a motorcycle attempting to snatch an e-commerce delivery bag and then robbing a scrap dealer of ₹7,000.A car driver thwarted the Dugri incident, and the crime’s video drew heavy social media criticism. Delivery rider Amit said: “I was robbed of ₹10,000 and a mobile phone at Thareeke Road on April 28 and I’m on my way to the police station to find out if they are the ones now thrashed in Dugri.”Police are verifying the identities of the injured men to determine if they are linked to the prior robberies, while the delivery workers remain in custody pending the assault investigation. eom MSID:: 130961768 413 |
