LUDHIANA: The Ludhiana city police solved the Rs 7.44 Lakh dacoity at Detwal branch of Punjab National Bank, within 48 hours, with the arrest of four accused, including a class four employee of the bank.
Two of their accomplices have yet to be arrested.
The police have also recovered Rs 2.39 lakh in cash and weapons from the possession of the accused. The robbers had executed dacoity in four minutes.
The arrested accused have been identified as Rupinder Singh Pinder, 50, of Village Talwara, Inderjit Singh, 30, of Village Gondpur, Ravi Sahota, 33, of Salem Tabri and Kuldeep Singh, class IV employee at the bank, 45, of Village Talwara. The absconding accused are from Jalandhar rural area. The police have recovered a .12 bore double barrel rifle, .32 bore pistol, 14 bullets, 7 shells, one motorcycle, five masks and a plastic rope from their possession.
The Commissioner of Police Kaustubh Sharma said that the PAU police on Saturday arrested the accused from a cremation ground in Village Baranhara, where they were hatching a conspiracy to execute another robbery. The kingpin of the gang are Rupinder Singh and Inderjit Singh. Rupinder is a security guard and therefore he has a license rifle, while inderjit Singh is in sand mining business, Ravi Sahota is a driver and Kuldeep Singh is peon at Detwal Branch of PNB. Kuldeep's brother is a convict in the high profile double murder case of February 2012, of Moga DSP Balraj Singh Gill and a woman Monica Kapila at a farm house at Hambran road.
CP Sharma said that Kuldeep Singh hatched the conspiracy of robbery and passed the information to the accused about the cash, staff members and absence of a security guard. Kuldeep had asked them to come at around 4 PM when there was hardly a customer in the bank. On August 11 also the accused barged into the bank when Kuldeep directed them. They went to the cabin of the cashier and robbed the cash at gunpoint.
The official said that with the robbed cash the accused also purchased another weapon and was planning to execute more robberies.
The PAU police have registered another case against the arrested accused and are trying to trace two absconding accused. The police also stated that the accused Inderjit Singh is already facing trial in three cases including drug peddling and snatching.
