It's game over for robbers in 60 hrs

LUDHIANA: It was ultimately the global positioning system (GPS) installed in the cash van and human intelligence that helped cops in getting breakthroughs to solve the Punjab's biggest money heist of Rs 8.49 crore within 60 hours of the crime.
A gang of robbers had barged into the office of a cash management company - CMS in Aman Park - in the early hours on June 10 and executed a heist of Rs 8.49 crore by holding the staffers and security personnel captive. While fleeing, the accused also drove away the cash van of the company which later on was found abandoned at Pandori village of Ludhiana rural area.
While driving away with the cash van, the accused had disconnected the CCTVs installed inside it, but they could not trace the GPS unit installed in the van.
Deputy commissioner of police (investigation) Harmeet Singh Hundal said, "It was Punjab's biggest dacoity and we had set a deadline for ourselves to crack the case in four to five days. As we knew that we may arrest the accused, but may not be able to recover the cash; so more than 10 teams worked day and night, without rest, to crack the case within three days."
"The first thing after reaching the robbery spot was to understand the functioning and entire system of the office and also the entry and exit points of the robbers. As the accused had taken away the DVR of the CCTV cameras installed in the office and the company had no footage backup on cloud, we were dependent on CCTV cameras installed in the locality. One such CCTV camera was installed at an under-construction house located opposite the office of CMS. As it was dark and even the camera was not of high resolution, it took a lot of effort to find a clue in which one after another robbers were seen gathering near the main gate of the office," Hundal said.
"While going through the functioning and security system of the company, the police found that the robbers definitely were aware of all the lapses in the system. The robbers knew how all the sensors and hooters would turn off, how the main gate can be opened without a thumb print and ID card and if the cash would be found in the open or not. All these clues pointed to the involvement of an insider," the DCP added.
"Teams were formed to check on the present and former employees of the company. Meanwhile, separate teams were formed to scan the CCTV cameras of Amar Park locality, nearby Rajguru Nagar area and main Ferozepur road. During the process, the police got to know that the cash van also has a GPS system which was not disconnected by the robbers. The GPS helped us get the first clue that the cash van was first stopped at Dhatt village in Jagraon for a few minutes and then was taken back from the wrong side to Pandori village where it was parked. We suspected that the cash must have been shifted from the van to some other vehicle at Dhatt village. So more teams were formed who started searching all the nearby villages," Hundal said.
Meanwhile, the police had started scanning the call dumps and realised that the robbers did not carry their mobile phones. No use of mobile phones made the police official use their own intelligence while going back to days when there were no mobile phones and CCTV cameras.
"The human intelligence is talking to people. While some teams were moved in different districts for investigation, some teams remained around Pandori, Dhatt and other surrounding villages. The cops walked for kms, commuted on bikes for hours to find clues. Each and every CCTV camera of those villages were scanned and police talked to hundreds of people. Finally, one link was found that of Mandeep Singh Vicky of Kothe Hari Singh village of Jagraon. His movement was seen in Dhatt and also where the cash van was recovered. The police zeroed in on him and found that Mandeep's cousin Manjinder worked in CMS company. Meanwhile in CCTV footage, the police also found an image of a black color Chevrolet Cruze which was seen coming from the Ferozepur side. The link of the owner of the car further matched with that of Manjinder Singh," Hundal said.