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Key accused in Ludhiana 30kg gold heist sent to five-day police custody
Chandan, alias Chandu, a resident of Ferozepur and a close associate of gangster Jaipal Singh Bhullar, had conspired the robbery from behind the bars
Another accused in the 30kg gold heist case, Chandan, alias Chandu, who was lodged in the Nabha jail and was the brain behind the heist, was brought on production warrants by a team of the Organised Crime Control Unit (OCCU) of the Punjab Police from the New Nabha Jail and produced in a Ludhiana court on Tuesday.
The court remanded him in five-day police custody.
According to the police, the accused, who is a resident of Ferozepur and a close associate of gangster Jaipal Singh Bhullar, had operated from the jail and arranged everything for executing the robbery.
Chandan is facing trial in 30 cases, including murders and attempts to murder. In 2016, the army’s Military Intelligence (MI) had written to the Punjab Police that criminals in state jails, including Chandan, were running extortion rackets.
Inspector general of police (OCCU) Kunwar Vijay Pratap Singh said gangster Chandan had hatched a conspiracy to commit the gold heist in the IIFL branch, Gill Road. He had prepared the escape plan for the accused and also arranged shelter for them in Ferozepur through his contacts. He was also supposed to get the lion’s share in the robbery.
Gangsters Jaipal Bhullar and Gursewak Singh are yet to be arrested in the case.
On February 17, five armed robbers had robbed gold ornaments and Rs 3 lakh in cash from the IIFL gold loan branch on the Gill Road. The robbers executed the crime within 25 minutes after the financial service company’s branch, located opposite the Punjab Police’s Crime Investigation Agency Unit 3 office, had opened.
