Amritsar: Driver’s daughter among 7 held in Rs 3 cr dacoity case

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, July 1

With the arrest of seven persons, including a woman, the police today claimed to have cracked the sensational dacoity case in which armed robbers looted cash and jewellery worth Rs 3 crore from a fruit trader after taking him and his wife hostage on June 26.

Plan to go to Italy

According to sources in the Police Department, Shivani and Gurtek had planned to leave for Italy after committing dacoity as their visas had already arrived. Had there been any delay in their arrest, they would have left India.

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After committing the crime, Gurpreet Gopi, who is a murder convict and is out of prison after completion of his sentence, and Sandeep Singh and Deepak Kumar, who looted the elderly couple, fled to Dhule in Maharashtra. Gurpreet used to work in Maharashtra earlier. — Ranjit Singh Dhillon, Police Commissioner, Amritsar

The police have recovered Rs 41.40 lakh in cash and gold jewellery weighing around 936 grams from the possession of the suspects. The police said in all, nine persons were named in the case. Raids were on to nab the remaining two absconding suspects.

Officials said teams of the Civil Lines police station and CIA staff led by SHO Amolakdeep Singh, Amandeep Singh and Binderjit under the supervision of Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police (ADCP) Abhimanyu Rana cracked the case and arrested the suspects.

Three of the suspects, including the prime suspect, had fled to Maharashtra after dacoity. They were arrested from Maharashtra.

Among those arrested included Gurpreet Singh, alias Gopi, of Indira Colony, Majitha Road, Sandeep Singh of Amarkot in Jandiala, Deepak Kumar of Khandwala in Chheharta, Gurtek Singh and Hardev Singh, both residents of Sarangdev village in Ajnala, Shivani Lata of Amar Avenue, Khandwala, and Harpal Singh of Rajasansi.

Ranjit Singh Dhillon, Police Commissioner (CP), said since the incident happened, the police was suspecting the role of an insider in the case.

“During technical and scientific investigations, the police found the involvement of Shivani Lata, who is daughter of Jiya Lal Behal, the victim’s driver. She was a divorcee and hatched a conspiracy with her fiancé Gurtek Singh,” the CP said.

The CP said after committing the crime, Gurpreet Gopi, who was a murder convict and was out of prison after completion of his sentence, and Sandeep Singh and Deepak Kumar, who looted the elderly couple, fled to Dhule in Maharashtra for hiding. Gurpreet used to work in Maharashtra earlier. The CP said the suspects handed over cash to their accomplices before escaping.

He said as the family had claimed that the suspects decamped with cash and jewellery worth Rs 3 crore, further probe was on. The remaining amount would be recovered soon, the CP added.

Four armed persons had robbed cash and jewellery from the house on June 26 after taking its owner Jiya Lal, a fruit and vegetable trader, and his wife hostage. The suspects had received a tip-off from Shivani regarding Jiya Lal’s family which had gone out of station for a vacation.

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