Punjab cops detain Rajasthan men returning from Dubai, take away valuables; arrested

Four friends returning from Dubai were forcibly taken to a police station by officials who also allegedly took away their valuables, including 2 kg gold, after their SUV was stopped on way home from Amritsar airport, police said on Saturday.

The friends, all residents of Nagaur in Rajasthan, were returning home after landing at Amritsar on Thursday night when they were stopped in Punjab's Bathinda by a black SUV, it is alleged.

Soon, Maur Mandi's Station House Office KC Parashar came out of the SUV and directed those present with him to search the vehicle in which those men were travelling.

The four men -- Mohammad Rafiq, Liaquat Sherani, Mohd Imaran and Mohammad Yunus -- were then taken to the local police station and detained there. They were let off after four hours but many articles they bought from Dubai were taken away, including gold weighing about 2 kg, it is alleged.

SHO Parashar has been arrested along with his gunman Hawaldar Avtar Singh and one Anoop Grover after a case of kidnapping and extortion was filed against them, Bathinda Senior Superintendent of Police Nanak Singh said.

The gold is yet to be recovered, he said, adding that further investigations are underway.