The Jalandhar commissionerate police have arrested one of the two men involved in the ₹6-lakh robbery at Punjab National Bank branch on Mithapur Road on Monday.
The suspect, Simranjit Singh, 49, is the son of a former Punjab Police deputy superintendent of police (DSP).
The robbery occurred around 2.30 pm on Monday when two masked men entered the bank posing as customers. They held a woman cashier at gunpoint and fled on a scooter with the cash. The incident was captured on CCTV cameras.
Commissioner of police Dhanpreet Kaur Randhawa said investigation teams used technical evidence and human intelligence to track and arrest Simranjit on Monday evening, just hours after the crime. Police recovered ₹3 lakh of the stolen money and the weapon used during the robbery.
According to police, Simranjit lives near the bank and was aware that the branch did not have a security guard. He is reportedly a drug addict who committed the crime to fund his addiction.
Investigators said the accused was married and had two children. “He does not have any job or business. He was trying to make easy money through crime and roped in his friend to execute the bank robbery,” a police official said.
Simranjit also has a criminal record with cheating and drug-related cases previously registered against him in Batala and Mohali.
{{/usCountry}}Simranjit also has a criminal record with cheating and drug-related cases previously registered against him in Batala and Mohali.
{{/usCountry}}He has now been booked under Section 309 (4) (robbery) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and relevant sections of the Arms Act.
While his accomplice has been identified, the police have withheld his name pending arrest.