PALWAL: In a dramatic highway robbery, five men posing as sales tax officers allegedly intercepted a truck carrying around Rs 70 lakh worth of goods near Sohna Road in Palwal, abducted its driver at gunpoint and fled with the iron-rod consignment. Palwal police arrested two accused and recovered the stolen truck, its entire load of iron rods and another truck allegedly used in the crime.The robbery took place on the night of September 10 when the truck, bearing registration number JH02BM7180, was carrying around 41.4 metric tonnes of 16mm iron rods from Jharkhand to Gurgaon.Police have put the total value of the robbed goods at around Rs 70 lakh.Police said five men travelling in a white Bolero without a registration number stopped the truck near the Sector 2 turn on Sohna Road. Posing as sales tax officers, they allegedly assaulted driver Mubarak Khan, snatched his mobile phone and purse, and blindfolded him with a cloth after threatening him at gunpoint.The accused then took the driver along with them and later abandoned him in the hills near Piruka village in Rajasthan, police said.The men fled with the truck carrying the iron rods.The empty truck was subsequently recovered from Palwal-Rohtak Road, following which a CIA Palwal team launched a probe to identify the robbers.Acting on clues gathered during the investigation, the CIA team intercepted two suspects near Nuh Road in Mandkola. The accused were identified as Jalaluddin, a resident of Shahpur/Sahabpur in Amroha, Uttar Pradesh and Hussain, a resident of Atali in Faridabad.Police also recovered a truck loaded with the stolen iron rods (HR-46-G-7801), besides the vehicle allegedly used in the robbery, two mobile phones and other documents.The two accused were produced before a court and taken on three days’ police remand. Police are questioning them to identify the other accused involved in the robbery and trace the locations where the stolen goods may have been stored or handled.SP Palwal Deepti Garg said the police acted swiftly after receiving information about the robbery and managed to recover the stolen consignment and vehicles. The investigation is continuing to trace the remaining accused and establish the complete sequence of the crime.
