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Ludhiana: Khanna police bust interstate truck robbers’ gang, 4 arrested
Mastermind arrested from Jalpaiguri, a father-son duo from Ludhiana and a scrap dealer’s son from Gurugram; his father booked
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Khanna police have busted an interstate gang involved in truck robberies and arrested four of its members, including the mastermind, in connection with the robbery of a scrap-laden truck in the Sadar Khanna area last month. The investigation into the August 28–29 robbery led police on a nearly 1,700-km trail to Jalpaiguri in West Bengal, where the alleged mastermind was arrested.
Khanna senior superintendent of police (SSP) Darpan Ahluwalia said the gang targeted trucks carrying iron and other valuable scrap, abducted and assaulted drivers and later sold the stolen material to scrap dealers. During interrogation, the mastermind reportedly disclosed the gang’s involvement in around 40 such incidents across different states.
More than 24 cases have already been registered against gang members in different states, police said.
“The arrested accused have been identified as Tarun Kumar alias Tarun Singh, 36, a resident of Dabbua Colony, Faridabad; Chetan Kumar Ladi, 33, and his father Prem Prakash, 58, both residents of Bhamian in Ludhiana; and Vikas Rai, 24, a resident of Gurugram. Vikas was arrested from Gurugram on Monday, while his father, Ganesh Kumar, a scrap dealer, has been booked in connection with the case, police said. All four accused are in the custody of Khanna police,” the SSP said.
Tarun was brought to Ludhiana by flight on Monday and was subsequently taken to Khanna, where police questioned him in connection with the case.
According to the Khanna SSP the breakthrough came after Rajpura-based transporter Sumit Sehgal approached the police on August 30, reporting that a truck belonging to his company had been robbed in the Sadar Khanna area during the intervening night of August 28 and 29.
According to the complaint, around five men intercepted the truck, abducted its driver, Bachan Singh, and assaulted him before abandoning him at an isolated location. They then fled with the truck, which was loaded with scrap.
The SSP said she constituted several teams to trace the accused.
“Police first arrested Chetan and Prem a few days ago. During questioning, the two identified Tarun as the mastermind who directed the gang’s operations. We learnt that Tarun had fled to West Bengal. His location was traced through technical surveillance and, with assistance from the Railway Police, and he was arrested from Jalpaiguri railway station,” said the SSP.
Police found that Tarun had booked a train ticket using a fake identity in the name of Ludhiana resident Jaspreet Singh and was preparing to flee from Jalpaiguri.
“A sum of ₹1.10 lakh, generated from the sale of the stolen scrap, was recovered from Tarun. Khanna police brought him from West Bengal to Delhi airport by air before taking him into custody. On his disclosure, the looted truck was recovered from Cheeka in Haryana,” the SSP added.
The truck was carrying scrap worth around ₹4.5 lakh, according to the investigation. Police said the accused sold the stolen scrap to Gurugram-based scrap dealer Ganesh, father of Vikas. The two allegedly purchased stolen and looted material at low prices, police said.
Police said the scrap-sale trail helped investigators establish the role of Vikas, who was arrested from Gurugram on Monday, while his father was booked in the case.
SSP Ahluwalia said the gang primarily targeted trucks carrying iron and other valuable scrap. After taking control of a vehicle, the accused allegedly abandoned the driver at an isolated location and disposed of the stolen scrap through dealers. The trucks were also abandoned at deserted places before the accused fled.
“Five cases are already registered against Chetan, while Tarun is facing nine cases. Prem is also booked in a drug-trafficking case in Ludhiana,” the SSP said.
Police are now examining the criminal records of the accused in different states and investigating their alleged involvement in other truck robberies.
