Three days after fake raid on dera, unidentified persons booked in Ludhiana

It took cops three days to ascertain whether the raid on the dera was real or fake; after which the accused were booked in Ludhiana

Three days after a gang of miscreants posing as enforcement directorate (ED) officials carried out a raid at a religious dera and decamped with ₹7 lakh, an FIR was registered against unidentified persons on Friday.

Accident or crime scene cordon tape, police line do not cross. It is nighttime, emergency lights of police cars flashing blue, red and white in the background (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

It took cops three days to ascertain whether the raid if was real or fake. An FIR was lodged on the statement of dera head Harbhajan Singh Yogacharaya, who runs an ayurveda clinic in the dera and also lives on the premises with his family.

He said on March 8 three men knocked on their door and introduced themselves as officials of the enforcement directorate. The accused claimed that they had information that he had hidden ₹1 crore in the dera and they wanted to investigate. Soon 15 aides of the accused, wearing white shirts and trousers, confiscated their mobile phones and also made them sit in a corner.

The accused ransacked the dera and found ₹7 lakh. They asked the dera head to collect the cash from the office after depositing the details of transactions. While leaving, they also took away the digital video recorder (DVR). On realising that he had been robbed, Yogacharaya informed the police.

Sub-inspector Raghbir Singh, who is investigating a case, had been registered under Sections 420 (cheating) and 380 (theft in dwelling house) of the Indian Penal Code was lodged against the unidentified accused.