According to the police, when Jitendra Kalsariya, along with his family, left his house to visit the Swaminaryan temple in Kamrej on Sunday, his car broke down near Laskana village. He then called up a friend to send somebody to repair the vehicle.

While he was waiting for some mechanic, two youth approached him and inquired as to what happened.

The two later threatened Jitendra to hand over whatever valuables they had. When he refused, they held him at knifepoint and threatened to kill him and his family.

They then took his mobile phone, wallet containing cash, his wife’s gold chain and earrings and escaped in the car from National Highway 8.

After the robbery, Kalsariya, a resident of Saptasunghi society in Parvat Patia, went to a nearby hotel to call up his relatives and informed the police. He later lodged a complaint with the Kamrej police, which searched the surrounding areas.

“Soon after the incident, we alerted the police to keep a vigil on the cars travelling on the highway. We also informed different taluka police stations in Surat to keep a watch on the car number and arrest those involved in this case. Since we suspect the accused to be from a nearby village, we have launched search operations in the area,” said Surat’s District Superintendent of Police K G Bhati.