Cops bust gang of robbers, five arrested

Gurugram: Police on Tuesday arrested five persons and detained a minor for their alleged involvement in a robbery case where they had held a security guard at gunpoint and robbed raw material and cash worth ₹30 lakh from an auto parts manufacturing firm at Sector 4 area of IMT Manesar

Gurugram: Police on Tuesday arrested five persons and detained a minor for their alleged involvement in a robbery case where they had held a security guard at gunpoint and robbed raw material and cash worth ₹30 lakh from an auto parts manufacturing firm at Sector 4 area of IMT Manesar. The incident took place on Monday, said police.

Gurugram, India-February 14, 2023: Preet Pal, ACP Crime Branch addresses a press conference on the arrest of six accused for an alleged robbery case in a company in IMT Manesar at Commissionerate Building, in Gurugram, India, on Tuesday, 14 February 2023. (Photo by Parveen Kumar/Hindustan Times)

Police said the suspects entered the factory in the wee hours of Monday and allegedly tied the hands and legs of a security guard deployed there and locked him inside a room. They fled with copper cables, aluminium and cash; police added.

The suspects have been identified as Monu Singh, Raju, Pravesh Kumar, Nasim and Junaid, police said, adding that they recovered stolen raw materials and two pick-up vans used during the crime.

Preet Pal Sangwan, assistant commissioner of police (crime), said the suspects formed a gang three months ago while playing cricket in Manesar area.

“Gang member Monu was employed in the factory as a security guard and knew the industrial area well. He tipped his gang members about the presence of raw materials. The gang planned the crime about three days before the robbery. As per their plan, a few members of the gang barged into the factory around 2am on Monday and held the security guard hostage at gunpoint. They later called the other gang members, who arrived in pick-up vans,” he said.

Sangwan said they are questioning Monu to get more details of other robberies that have taken place in the area.

According to factory owner Shailender Hooda, the robbers fled with bundles of copper and aluminium. He estimated the valuation of the stolen goods to be about ₹30 lakh. He said that around a dozen suspects entered the factory after jumping the boundary wall.

Investigators said that after robbing the factory, the suspects went to a house and dumped the stolen goods. They were later taken away in two other vehicles by gang members Junaid and Nasim, police added.

The five suspects were arrested from different areas, while the juvenile was apprehended on Tuesday morning, said police.

A case under Section 395 (dacoity) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and sections 25, 54 and 59 of the Arms act was registered at IMT, Manesar police station on Monday, police added.