Members of a three-wheeler gang stole Rs 40,000 from a Barnala-based trader in a moving auto on Wednesday.
The victim Deepak Kumar, 31, said that he runs a readymade garment shop in Barnala and had come to Ludhiana to buy some stuff.
In the afternoon, he boarded a three-wheeler from Bharat Nagar Chowk to get to Field Ganj. Two passengers were already sitting in the auto and one of them was being addressed as Sanjay by the other two.
The accused made him get off the auto near Shri Durga Mata Mandir. It was when he got off that Deepak realised that the cash in his pocket was missing and immediately sounded the police.
Assistant sub-inspector (ASI) Tarsem Singh, who is investigating the case, said a case under Section 379 (theft) of the Indian Penal Code has been registered against unidentified persons. He added that the victim managed to note down the registration number of the vehicle, which will help them trace the accused.