An FIR was lodged in the case at the Sector 49 police station, police said. (Representational)
A BMW car, which was stolen from a businessman at gunpoint a fortnight ago, has been recovered and the three assailants involved in the incident have been arrested, the Noida Police said on Monday.
The car was stolen from Amandeep Singh around 4.30 am on July 3 when he had stopped at a public toilet near the Sector-76 metro station, police said.
Accused Nitin Kumar Singh (27), Sandeep Singh alias Kaka (35) and Rahul Gihar (25) are all residents of Firozpur in Punjab, according to officials.
"They were arrested on Monday from a roundabout in Sector 112 by officials of the Crime Branch and Noida Sector 49 police station following a tip-off," a police spokesperson said.
"The BMW car stolen by them has been recovered. Another car, a Hyundai i20, which they had lifted from Gurgaon, Haryana, has also been recovered. The pistol used in the crime has also been seized," the spokesperson said.
The carjacking was planned by Nitin who allegedly wanted to kill a criminal in Firozpur with whom he had a personal dispute, the officials said.
"Nitin had a fight with Saajan Mali, a criminal of Firozpur who has been an accused in cases of loot and murder. Nitin told police that he, along with Sandeep and Rahul, had planned to kill Saajan for which they needed a car," a Noida Police official said.
For this purpose, they had recently stolen the i20 from Gurgaon and made a couple of trips to Firozpur but were unsuccessful in their plan and returned to Noida, their temporary hideout, the official said.
However, they thought that by now Saajan's aides must have recognised their car so they wanted to change it and were on the lookout for another vehicle. While in Noida, they found the BMW parked near a public toilet with just one occupant, the official added.
"The businessman was returning from a friend's house in Sector 78 when he had pulled over near the metro station but was targeted by the trio who used a pistol to threaten him into handing over the car to them. Following this, they fled the spot," the official said.
An FIR was lodged in the case at the Sector 49 police station, police said.
Police Commissioner Alok Singh has announced a reward of Rs 50,000 to the police team involved in cracking he case, while DCP Noida Rajesh S announced a reward of Rs 25,000, according to officials.