Three persons, including a Punjab Police constable, were arrested on Friday in connection with a snatching incident in which ₹1.25 lakh was taken away from Bathinda resident Krishan Avtar.
Senior superintendent of police (SSP) Amneet Kondal identified the arrested suspects as Gurjit Singh, the mastermind of the crime, senior constable Lovejeet Singh and Sukhchain Singh. The incident occurred on Thursday at a filling station near Kotshamir village.
The SSP further said that the trio had been named in an extortion case in 2023, and the matter is currently sub judice. Lovejeet Singh, who had been suspended following the incident, was reinstated despite being booked two years ago.
“Official records show that Lovejeet frequently absents himself from his duties at the police lines. Following his arrest, departmental action has been initiated against him,” said Kondal.
“The crime was orchestrated by Gurjit Singh, a friend of Krishan Avtar. The two had gone to the petrol pump together to withdraw money. Avtar withdrew ₹1.35 lakh after swiping his credit card. As they were collecting the cash, Lovejeet and Sukhchain arrived on a motorcycle and snatched ₹1.25 lakh from Avtar before fleeing,” the SSP said, adding that the authorities were investigating why the petrol pump operator had provided such a large sum of cash to Avtar, even though the transaction was made via credit card.