Two held in Jammu for Chandigarh pharmacy cashier's killing; suspects try to flee during transit

Chandigarh, Jun 18 (PTI) Two persons arrested from Jammu in connection with the killing of a pharmacy's cashier allegedly made an unsuccessful attempt to escape from police custody when they were being brought here on transit remand on Thursday, police said. The two Jammu residents allegedly fled to Delhi after the crime here on Saturday, and then returned to Jammu, they said. Police located them using technical surveillance and made the arrests in Jammu. The police team was returning to Chandigarh with the suspects when their vehicle met with a minor accident, and both the accused tried to escape, leading to an exchange of fire in which the accused received bullet injuries, Inspector General (IG) Pushpendra Kumar said at a press conference here. The two accused -- Sunny Mehra (22) who shot dead the pharmacy cashier, and Aryan Sharma (21) who was waiting outside on a motorcycle -- are residents of Jammu, he said. A third accused, Amit, who entered the pharmacy with Sunny, is stated to be the prime suspect in the case, and is still at large. "We have been able to work out the case. After the incident, a Special Investigation Team comprising police personnel from the Crime Branch, Operations Cell and the concerned police station was formed. "According to primary leads, we came to know that after committing the crime, the assailants took a bus to Delhi and later boarded a train to Jammu. Based on technical surveillance and use of various investigative tools and leads gathered during the investigation, our team arrested the two accused involved in the incident from Jammu," Kumar said. The motive behind the killing is under investigation, and police are looking into the "larger conspiracy" behind the incident, police said. When asked about gangster Goldy Dhillon, who is based abroad, purportedly claiming responsibility for the attack, police said this is under investigation. Asked if the pharmacy owner had received any extortion call before the cashier's killing, the IG said no such thing has come to light during the investigation so far. Police also did not rule out the angle of mistaken identity but said nothing points to it being a case of mistaken identity. IG Kumar said after completing legal formalities in Jammu, the police team was returning to Chandigarh when their vehicle met with a minor accident. "They (Sunny and Aryan) snatched a weapon from police and attacked the team. Our team warned them, but they did not listen. In retaliation, we opened fire, in which both accused sustained bullet injuries in their leg and were hospitalised," he said. According to the police officer, the driver of the vehicle carrying the accused was injured when the vehicle met with an accident. IG Kumar said the accused fired two rounds at the police team, which in turn fired four. On June 13, two masked men had shot dead the pharmacy cashier, Janki Das (45), in broad daylight in Sector 11, Chandigarh. The incident was captured by a CCTV camera installed inside the shop. The assailants fled on a motorcycle with a third accomplice waiting outside. In the CCTV footage, the two men are seen standing near the cash counter of the shop. One of them pulls out a semi-automatic pistol and fires 13 rounds at Das from a very close range. Sunny is the one who opened fire at Das. Raids are underway to arrest the third accused, Amit, who went inside the pharmacy with Sunny, the IG said. The accused stayed at Kajheri here before carrying out the crime. The weapon used in the crime has not been recovered so far and is believed to be with absconding accused Amit, the IG said. On whether the two accused have any previous criminal background, he said police do not have anything on their criminal background. "They are not too educated. We are checking detailed family background." When asked how the accused managed to leave the city despite multiple police 'nakas', the IG said they were trying to figure out if there were any gaps in their plan. Das was a native of Himachal Pradesh and had been living in Dhanas area for some time. The market where the incident took place sees heavy footfall every day and has several pharmacies as it is next to the Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER). PTI SUN SKY SKY