Two arrested in ₹23 lakh loot case in Punjab, main accused on the run

Police said during their investigation, they confessed that former employee of toll plaza Vipin Kumar was the mastermind of the whole plan, who strategized with other two accused identified as Dharminder Singh and Gurpreet Singh of Phagwara.

`Three days after the unidentified miscreants looted ₹23.5 lakh from the manager of Ladowal toll plaza, Jalandhar rural police arrested two robbers and recovered ₹2lakh of the looted amount from their possession. A police spokesperson said the accused have been identified as Manpreet Salhan of Mehrampur Batoli village of SBS Nagar and Gurjit Singh of Loharan village of Jalandhar district.

On July 24, the accused had intercepted the toll plaza vehicle near the main bus stand in Phillaur and overpowered its manager Sudhakar Singh, who was on his way to deposit the cash in the local bank.

It added that based on technical evidence and CCTV footage, the investigation teams zeroed in on both the accused and recovered ₹1.5 lakh from Manpreet’s possession and ₹95,000 from Gurjit.

Police said during their investigation, they confessed that former employee of toll plaza Vipin Kumar was the mastermind of the whole plan, who strategized with other two accused identified as Dharminder Singh and Gurpreet Singh of Phagwara.

“After committing the robbery, the kingpin Vipin handed over ₹2 lakh to both of the arrested accused and asked them to collect the remaining promised amount later from his house,” the police said.

On July 24, the accused had intercepted the toll plaza vehicle near the main bus stand in Phillaur and overpowered its manager Sudhakar Singh, who was on his way to deposit the cash in the local bank.

The police have registered a case against unidentified persons under Sections 379-B (snatching) and 34 (acts done by several persons of common intention) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).