3 weeks on, no headway in Rs 1.33-crore heist yet

Aman Sood

Tribune News Service

Patiala, May 24

After three weeks of investigations into Rs 1.33-crore robbery on the Banur-Chandigarh highway, the police have not been able to crack the case. The district police and the Intelligence Wing have collaborated to solve the case in which unidentified men robbed the cash van at gunpoint.

Sources within the Police Department confirmed that they had tried to match some sketches and pictures of gangsters available with other districts, but nothing substantial had come out so far.

“We earlier suspected the role of certain accused who were also involved in a recent murder case, but we have not been able to get concrete details about their involvement,” they said.

Senior officials confirmed that a police team from the CIA Patiala is trying to identify the Scorpio vehicle that was involved in the crime. “We are ringing up all owners who recently bought the new model of this vehicle. However, nothing concrete came out,” they said.

While the sketches of the accused were released by the police, there had been no concrete clue to the accused. The delay in solving the case has raised a question over the police working, especially when the policemen took nearly 40 minutes to reach the spot. With no substantial leads, the police were relying on the video of the robbery that went viral on the social media and the footage available from CCTV cameras, sources said.

On May 2 morning, six youths, in their mid-20s reportedly, intercepted a cash van, fired at the driver and fled away with Rs 1.33 crore within two minutes on the busy highway. Onlookers said they tried calling the police emergency number (100), but there was no response.

Sources said the police had tied up with other district police wings to identify the accused, but there had been no concrete information with the police till date.

“The police are trying to procure the list of gangsters and recent snatching incidents or attempts made nearby the crime scene,” said sources.

Despite the spot being a few hundred metres away from a police station, policemen took nearly 40 minutes to reach the place, said sources, adding that the lone PCR vehicle that arrived there had limited fuel to reach the spot, “leave aside chasing the robbers.” Policemen took 15 minutes to flash the message regarding the robbery, which “wasted crucial time before the district police finally blocked the roads.”

Sources said only a few officers from Patiala had reached the spot immediately and several others left when they were informed that senior officers from Chandigarh would also be reaching the incident spot. A few officers stationed in Rajpura and Banur reached the spot late.

The gangsters had fired six shots, one of which injured the driver. They beat up other occupants. Some passers-by made a video of the incident.

The robbery has raised questions over the private security guards as the two armed guards inside the van did not fire even one shot. The video showed they were slapped and pushed on the roadside. The robbers went straight for the cash box and placed it in their Scorpio, where the sixth accomplice was behind the wheel. The robbers also took away guards’ .12-bore guns.

Patiala SSP S Bhoopathi has claimed that a team under the supervision of SP (Detective) HS Virk is probing the case and they had certain clues.

The case

On May 2 morning, six youths, in their mid-20s reportedly, intercepted a cash van, fired at the driver and fled away with Rs 1.33 crore within two minutes on the busy highway. Onlookers said they tried calling the police emergency number (100), but there was no response.

No concrete clue yet

While the sketches of the accused were released by the police, there had been no concrete clue to the accused. The delay in solving the case has raised a question over the police working, especially when the policemen took nearly 40 minutes to reach the spot. With no substantial leads, the police were relying on the video of the robbery that went viral on the social media and the footage available from CCTV cameras, sources said.