Auto gang busted, 2 held with Rs 9lakh

Ludhiana: Police on Wednesday arrested two members of an auto gang that had robbed a Mumbai-based trader of Rs 9.5 lakh near Sherpur Chowk. The police also seized Rs 8.84 lakh of the looted money.
The accused — Arman and Fariyad of Muslim Colony, Focal Point — were nabbed from near a police station.

The police said five other members — Kunal, Mintu Pal, Sandeep of Makkar Colony, Giaspura; Sandeep Kumar of Mandeep Nagar, Giaspura; and Rohit — of the gang are still at large who are facing trials in different snatching cases.

After being released on bail, the accused, all aged between 25 and 30 years, had started committing crime again.

Additional deputy commissioner of police-I Gurpreet Singh Sikand said the auto gang has been operating since 2017. The gang leader Arman owned an auto and others drove auto-rickshaws taken on rent.

Giving details about their modus operandi, ADCP Sikand said, “While Arman used to drive the auto, his accomplice would pose as passengers. When the auto would pass through a pothole or speed breaker, one of the accused would put some file, paper or bag in front of co-passenger to block his vision. Within seconds, another accomplice would steal cash, mobile and belongings and get rid of their victim.”

On October 27, Inder Singh, 67, a businessman from West Mumbai, boarded an auto from Rekhi Chowk for Sherpur Chowk. He was carrying Rs 9.5 lakh cash with him, that he had collected from his business partners in Jalandhar, Hoshiarpur and Amritsar during his trip to Punjab.

A day before he was robbed, Inder Singh had stayed in a city hotel.

The official said accused were unaware that Inder Singh had such a huge amount of cash in his bag. They targeted people randomly who had some belongings that could be taken away.

Assistant commissioner of police (central) Waryam Singh said initially the trader was not willing to inform the police, but when other traders insisted, he lodged a complaint with the police.

The ACP said, “The accused had executed several robberies and most of which had gone unreported. The accused were lodged in jail and came out on bail in September. Afterwards, they resumed where they had left. The gang leader Arman also owned a garment store in the Giaspura area.”