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Highway robbers’ kingpin nabbed following encounter in Mohali’s Lalru
34-year-old suffers bullet injury in gunfight with police near Lalru’s Lehli village; accomplice flees; pistol, five cartridges recovered
In a major breakthrough, Mohali police arrested the kingpin of a gang involved in multiple inter-state highway robberies, following a dramatic exchange of gunfire near Lalru’s Lehli village on Sunday.
The accused, identified as Satpreet Singh, alias Satti, 34, sustained a bullet injury on the right leg in the gunfight before he was nabbed. His accomplice Sabi managed to flee the spot amid the melee, leaving a black Bajaj Platina motorcycle behind.
A .32-calibre pistol, along with five live cartridges, were recovered from Satpreet, who was rushed to the local civil hospital by police.
“Satpreet was riding behind Sabi on the motorcycle. When they were being pursued by police, Satpreet opened fire at the police team. Amid the chase, Sabi drove the motorcycle towards the jungle area in Lehli village. But as Satpreet got hit by a bullet, Sabi abandoned him and the two-wheeler, and fled the spot,” a police officer said.
Punjab director general of police (DGP) Gaurav Yadav shared Satpreet was a history-sheeter, wanted for several cases of snatching and robbery in Punjab and Haryana.
Probe into two recent robberies led police to kingpin
“His gang primarily targets halted vehicles on the Ambala-Dera Bassi highway. Preliminary investigations have revealed that most recently, Satpreet, along with his three associates, had executed two late-night robberies on the highway in Lalru area on November 3 and 10, making off with cash, mobile phones and gold ornaments at gunpoint,” the DGP said, adding that further investigations were ongoing to arrest his associates.
Sharing further details, Mohali senior superintendent of police (SSP) Deepak Pareek said during investigation of these robbery incidents, credible information about the involvement of Satpreet’s gang was received that corresponded with the facts and gathered evidence.
“Acting swiftly, a team, led by Dera Bassi DSP Bikramjit Singh Brar, worked on human and technical inputs and traced Satpreet’s movement near Lehli village. When police teams were chasing his motorcycle on Sunday, he fired three gunshots at the police team, which hit the official police vehicle. In retaliation, police also fired at the accused, following which Satpreet sustained a bullet injury on the right leg,” the SSP said.
Senior police officials, including SP (Rural) Manpreet Singh, reached the spot and claimed that police had strong leads and would arrest Sabi, who fled from the encounter scene, soon.
A case under Sections 109 (attempt to murder), 132 (crime of assaulting or using criminal force against a public servant) and 221 (obstructing a public servant in discharge of public functions) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and under relevant sections of the Arms Act was registered at the Lalru police station.
Formed six-member gang in jail
According to investigators, Satpreet, a resident of Dandrala village in Dera Bassi, leads a six-member gang of highway robbers that he formed in Ambala jail.
His accomplices are from Dera Bassi, Lehli and Ambala, and thus, the gang targeted vehicles on National Highway-21 at Zirakpur, Dera Bassi and Ambala.
“He met his gang members in Ambala jail. On November 10, they had robbed a married couple, who work for a private company, at gunpoint. The gang has targeted multiple victims, many of whom hadn’t even reported the robberies, but approached police after Satpreet’s arrest. We will nab other members of the gang soon,” a police officer said.
Just last month, Lalru police had lodged two robbery and snatching cases against Satpreet, who was previously also booked by Dera Bassi police in an attempt to murder case. A drug addict, he was also admitted to a de-addiction centre in Ambala in the past.
