Youths murder auto driver for gambling money, arrested

CHANDIGARH - Two teenagers who robbed and murdered an auto-rickshaw driver, and spent his money on firecrackers and gambling, were arrested from Sector 25 area of the city, police said Saturday.

Vijay Shankar Diwedi, 45, was found lying in a pool of blood near Gate No. 3 of the Punjab University Nov 6, police said. His auto-rickshaw was parked nearby.

“Working on a tip-off, we arrested two boys, aged 14 and 17 years, on Friday from Sector 25. They wanted money to gamble, and to buy firecrackers,” Satbir Singh, Chandigarh’s deputy superintendent of police (crime), told IANS Saturday.

The arrested duo, whose names cannot be disclosed for legal reasons, have been sent to a juvenile home, he added.

The boys hired Diwedi’s auto-rickshaw around 11.45 p.m. on Diwali. On reaching Sector 17, they told him that they were not carrying any money, and asked him to take them to their friend in the Punjab University campus,” Singh said.

On reaching the spot, the youths hit Diwedi’s head with a brick.

They searched Diwedi’s pockets and took away Rs.600 and some documents. They bought crackers and gambled with this money. They told all this to a friend, who spread the news in their locality,” he said.

The 17-year old is a tenth standard student of a local school, while the other is a school dropout, and works in a tea-stall. Their parents are class 4 employees in Chandigarhs health department, Singh said.