Police crack Rs 45 lakh Phagwara loot

Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, December 30

The Kapurthala police have solved the sensational case related to robbery of Rs 45 lakh from an employee of a money exchanger in Phagwara. The police have recovered Rs 22 lakh and two cars from the accused.

The accused have been identified as Akhil Rawat alias Sonu, a resident of # 122 A in Sector 51-A, Chandigarh, Amandeep Singh Makhan, a resident of Fatehabad, Haryana, and Shami Sharma, a resident of Baltana, SAS Nagar.

Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Harkamalpreet Singh Khakh said on December 25, Shankar Maini, an employee of Hoshiarpur-based money exchanger, was abducted from the slip road by three masked criminals in a car after which they ran away towards Ludhiana.

He said during investigation it came to the fore that Maini was kidnapped as he was carrying Rs 45 lakh in a bag. The police had registered a case under Section 365 of the IPC against three unknown persons.

The SSP said a special investigation team (SIT) was formed for conducting the probe.

He said the SIT zeroed in on Rawat, whose activities on December 25 seemed to be suspicious. The SSP said during probe he broke down and confessed to the crime.

Khakh said they have recovered Rs 22 lakh and a car (registration number CH04-B-0421), which was used in the crime.

Rawat disclosed that he along with his friends planned to rob Rs 45 lakh in Phagwara. Rawat added that as Maini came towards Phagwara in a bus with a bag containing money, he asked his men to chase him. Then they kidnapped him in a car with fake registration number PB-10-C-1111 (actual number HR26-VB-8026) and abandoned him near Goraya after looting the cash from him.

The SSP they will add Sections 379-B and 472 of the IPC and Sections 25, 54 and 59 of the Arms Act.