Ludhiana shopkeeper’s murder:Victim murdered during robbery bid, 2 held, say Cops

Police say the assailants had entered the premises through the rooftop during the intervening night of March 24 and 25, intending only to commit theft; however, when victim awoke and attempted to intervene, the accused tied his legs, gagged him, and ultimately strangled him to death after he tried to resist

The cold-blooded murder of a 52-year-old furniture and electronic shop owner Ram Dhani Tiwari, in Dhandari’s Durga Colony, was the result of a botched robbery attempt by a gang of 11 robbers who were unaware that the victim was sleeping inside his shop during the night. The assailants had entered the premises through the rooftop during the intervening night of March 24 and 25, intending only to commit theft. However, when Tiwari awoke and attempted to intervene, the accused tied his legs, gagged him, and ultimately strangled him to death after he tried to resist.

As of now, police have arrested two of the accused including — Nand Lal Paswan of Machhi Market and Jeet Lal alias Master of Dhandari Khurd. A manhunt is underway to trace the remaining nine suspects – including Roshan Mota, Mithlesh Kumar - both residents of Jagdish Colony, Sooraj Kumar and Raja Kumar - both of Dhandari Khurd, Sonu, Satinder alias Nirhua, Sunil, and Radhey Shyam Yadav - all from Ishwar Colony, and Raja Ram. Additional deputy commissioner of police (ADCP) City-4 Mandeep Singh Sandhu stated, “Separate police teams were working round the clock, and we have successfully arrested two of the accused.

The arrested accused have also led to the recovery of stolen goods from the shop.” Recovered items include four LED TV screens, one cloth iron, one home theater system, and 35 mobile phones. Interestingly, while Nand Lal Paswan did not directly participate in the robbery or murder, police say he conducted a recce of the store and hosted the planning meeting at his residence.

His information helped the gang Assistant commissioner of police (ACP) Industrial Area-A, Jasbinder Singh, added that all the accused hail from Bihar but had been residing in Ludhiana for several years. “Sunil, the gang’s mastermind, is already facing theft charges in a December 2024 case registered at Fatehgarh Sahib. He was out on bail at the time of this crime,” he revealed.

Tiwari was found murdered on March 25 in his shop in Durga Colony. The hands and legs of the victim were tied with a piece of rope. A day after the murder, the kin of the victim had staged a protest seeking arrest of the accused.

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