Ludhiana: A 65-year-old village grocer was ambushed and attacked with knives during a pre-dawn robbery on his way to a dairy distribution hub, highlighting growing concerns over violent ambient crime targeting small traders.Sohan Singh of Mansooran village was carrying ₹25,000 on his scooter to buy morning inventory on Wednesday when five men intercepted him near Lalton Kalan. Despite three of the assailants being masked, the wounded shopkeeper recognised two of his attackers as local youths from his own neighbourhood.“Every morning I ride out to the Verka Milk Plant to stock up on fresh milk and curd for my shop,” the grocer said from his hospital bed. “They blocked my path and started swinging knives before grabbing the cash bag.”After the gang fled, a bloodied grocer managed to alert his family, who moved him to an emergency ward. Armed with the grocer’s eyewitness identification, local police launched a manhunt for two named suspects known as Kinder and Jaggi, along with their three unidentified, masked accomplices.The state’s criminal justice system has moved swiftly to codify the severity of the ambush .“An FIR (first-information report) was registered against the gang,” said assistant sub-inspector Satnam Singh, the primary investigating officer from the Sadar police station.Police have hit the fugitives with an array of severe counts under section 112(2) (petty organised crime), 191(2) (armed riot), 307 (theft aggravated by intent to cause death or grievous restraint), and 304(2) (high-value snatching ) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). A manhunt is on across the district for the five suspects.
