Jammu, 24 June (H.S.): A thief was paraded with a garland of shoes on the streets and also briefly made to sit on the bonnet of a moving police vehicle after he was caught outside a hospital in the heart of the city on Tuesday, an official said.

The accused, a notorious criminal, is part of a gang, which was recently busted in the area, said Bakshi Nagar Police Station SHO Azad Manhas.

The thief, a resident of Kashmir, was found under the influence of drugs and caught after a scuffle and a long chase, he added.

The officer said that a man, who was robbed of Rs 40,000 while buying medicines for his patient a couple of days ago, identified the thief and confronted him.

The SHO said that the thief, however, attacked the man with a knife, causing injuries to his hand and tried to escape even as his shirt was torn apart in the scuffle, adding they were on patrolling duty and noticed the scuffle and managed to catch hold of the thief after a long chase.

The thief was made to wear a garland of footwear by some local youth, who joined police in the chase and he was paraded and made to sit on the bonnet of the police vehicle with a public address system announcing his arrest while being taken to the police station.

This was the second incident when any criminal faced such a situation in Jammu city this month.

Earlier on June 11, three criminals involved in a shooting incident in Gangyal chowk on the outskirts of Jammu were beaten up in full public view after they were caught and taken to the police station.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Krishan Kumar