Chandigarh: Heritage cannon theft cracked with arrest of PAP mess cook

The heritage cannon, which weighs around three quintals and is made completely of brass, has been recovered

Police have cracked the May 5 theft of the three-foot-long heritage cannon from Gazetted Officers’ Mess at 82nd Battalion of Punjab Armed Police (PAP), Sector 1, with the arrest a cook of the mess and his two accomplices, including a juvenile.

The accused were arrested by the crime branch of the Chandigarh Police. (HT Photo)

The heritage cannon, which weighs around three quintals and is made completely of brass, has been recovered. It is believed to be from the pre-Independence era and had been on display outside the mess for close to a decade.

The cook, Subham Sharma, 23, lives on the mess premises, and has been working there on contract for five years. His accomplice Sanjay Kumar, 29, a disc jockey, lives in a hutment in Kaimbwala village. Their juvenile accomplice has also been apprehended and sent to juvenile home.

Investigators said Sharma conspired the theft for easy money. He arrived at the mess with the juvenile on the intervening night between May 5 and 6, decamped with the cannon on a Honda Activa scooter by deceiving the security guard. The mess is located in a highly secured zone near the Punjab and Haryana chief ministers’ official residences, and the Punjab and Haryana secretariats.

A case under Section 379 (theft) of the Indian Penal Code was registered at the Sector 3 police station on May 15 after a complaint by Balinder Singh, commandant, 82nd Battalion, PAP.

Dismantled brass cannon to sell it

After stealing the cannon, Sharma, with the help of Kumar, tried to sell it, but failed as police search had begun. They then dismantled the cannon and hid it in a forest. On Friday, they again headed out to sell the cannon parts, when a team of crime branch nabbed them on the basis of a tip-off. The accused were walking from Kaimbwala to Nayagaon with a bag containing the cannon parts that was seized.