E-Paper
Retired army havildar held for faking ₹15L robbery
According to Bathinda deputy superintendent of police (rural) Harjit Singh, Avtar Singh, a resident of Kotli Khurd who retired on April 30, had squandered around ₹1.50 crore on online gambling since 2021.
Police on Saturday arrested a retired army havildar for allegedly staging a robbery of ₹15 lakh to cover up heavy losses from online gambling.
According to Bathinda deputy superintendent of police (rural) Harjit Singh, Avtar Singh, a resident of Kotli Khurd who retired on April 30, had squandered around ₹1.50 crore on online gambling since 2021. Fearing questions from his family about the financial mess, Avtar concocted an elaborate robbery drama.
“On Friday, Avtar approached the police claiming that three unknown assailants had looted ₹15 lakh from him at gunpoint near Gehri Bara Singha village. He claimed that after withdrawing the cash from a Bathinda bank and riding home on his motorcycle, a woman and a man flagged him down for a lift. Later, a car intercepted them, and all three — including the hitchhikers — took away his money at gunpoint after administering him with sedatives,” the DSP said.
However, during the investigation, police uncovered inconsistencies in Avtar’s story.
“Avtar never visited any bank in Bathinda and had a mere ₹3.10 in his account. Avtar’s mobile phone records also placed him nowhere near Bathinda that day. Further, the doctors who examined him after he claimed to have been sedated found no trace of any sedatives in his body,” the DSP said.
“When confronted with these findings, Avtar eventually confessed to fabricating the robbery story to hide his gambling addiction and financial ruin,” the DSP added.
A case under Section 217 (providing false information) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) has been registered against him at Kotfatta police station.
