E-Paper
Robbers who struck at Ludhiana yarn units held, six cases solved
Ludhiana police have seized a Tata Xenon pick-up truck, 65 spools of cloth, yarn, two motorcycles, sharp-edged weapons, and a laptop from their possession
Police on Wednesday said that they has solved six robberies over the past seven months with the arrest of six accused, including two brothers. The gang had become a headache for the textile and yarn industry with frequent robberies, officials said.
Police have seized a Tata Xenon pick-up truck, 65 spools of cloth, yarn, two motorcycles, sharp-edged weapons, and a laptop from their possession. According to police, the accused used to target yarn and garment factories, and sell the robbed material in other states.
The accused have been identified as Haidar Ali, 33, of Kasabad, Salim Baggar, 34, of Guru Gobind Singh Nagar, Tibba road, Gurdev Singh, 33, of Sujatwal village, Jaspreet Singh alias Jas, 24, of Noorwala village and brothers Satnam Singh alias Sunny Mattu, 29, and Harjit Singh alias Ajay, 22, of Fattu Chak village in Kapurthala.
Police said that Haidar Ali was the kingpin of the gang.
Joint commissioner of the police (JCP rural) Jaskiranjit Singh Teja said that the gang had targeted a textile unit in Noorwala village on intervening night of December 13 and 14. The miscreants had held the security guards and workers captive, and decamped with fabric, yarn and other valuables after loading then in a pickup van.
Following a complaint by Arvind Sharma of Alwar, Rajasthan, owner of the unit robed in December, Meharban police had lodged an FIR against unidentified accused. The complainant had claimed that he had incurred losses of around ₹20 lakh in the incident.
The JCP added that the police were after the gang for the past seven months. Following a tip-off, police arrested the accused on Tuesday. With their arrest, the police have solved six robbery case. The accused used to strike at night. He added that they would hold the labourers and security guards captive and rob the materials.
During questioning, the accused told police that they had stolen the seized pick-up truck from Jalandhar.
The JCP added that Haidar Ali was facing trial in at least 20 cases. Salim Baggar has at least 16 cases lodged against him, he said, adding that six cases were lodged against Satnam Singh. A hunt was on for the arrest of more accused, the official said.
