Fugitive living in guise of gurdwara granthi nabbed from Kurukshetra

The accused, identified as Gurmeet Singh, 42, of Karnal, was on the run after being accused of cheating a bank by not repaying a vehicle loan; he was staying at the Kurukshetra gurdwara for the past five years

A proclaimed offender (PO), who was living in the guise of a granthi at a gurdwara in Kurukshetra for the past five years, has been arrested by the proclaimed offender cell of the Chandigarh Police.

The fugitive had bought a tractor on bank loan, but did not get it hypothecated and later defaulted on loan payments. (iStock)

The accused, identified as Gurmeet Singh, 42, of Karnal, was on the run after being accused of cheating a bank by not repaying a vehicle loan.

Police had booked Gurmeet under Sections 420, 467, 468, 471 and 120-B of the Indian Penal Code in August 2008 on the complaint of Kotak Mahindra Bank, Sector 9, Chandigarh.

As per the complaint, he had purchased a tractor from Karnal after taking a loan from the bank. But while getting the vehicle registered, he did not get it hypothecated in the bank’s name and also defaulted on loan payments. Later, he even sold off the tractor.

As he continued to evade arrest, a local court had declared Gurmeet a proclaimed offender on April 29, 2010. According to police, after being booked, Gurmeet fled from Karnal to Patiala, before moving to Bijnore in Uttar Pradesh, and finally settling for Kurukshetra, where he started living in the garb of a granthi at a gurdwara.

He was produced before a court on Thursday and sent to judicial custody.