Robbery at commission agent’s house: Prime accused held

Eight months after several armed persons robbed the house of a commission agent after holding him and his wife hostage, the city police have arrested the ninth accused in the case and recovered a huge quantity of gold and silver jewellery and Rs 2.9 lakh cash from his possession.

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He has been identified as Balram Singh, alias Ballu, a resident of Surakhpur in Kapurthala. According to the police, he had five criminal cases registered against him in Amritsar rural, Jalandhar and Kapurthala districts.

Deputy Commissioner of Police Alam Vijay Singh said Jiya Behal, a resident of Tokiryan Wala bazaar on Court Road, told the police that in the wee hours on June 26 when his wife opened the gate of the house, four persons, who were sitting in an SUV near the park located opposite the house, barged into the house and held them hostage and took them into the bedroom.

They tied their hands and mouth and demanded the keys of the almirahs while pointing a sharp-edged weapon and a pistol. They decamped with Rs 95 lakh cash, 3-kg gold and a licensed revolver, the almirah and the scooter parked inside the house.

The incident had led to widespread criticism over the deteriorating law and order situation in the city.

The DCP said the police had already registered nine accused recovering Rs 49 lakh cash, silvery jewellery weighing around 936 gm, a car, a bike and .32 bore revolver in this regard.

He said Balram Singh was lodged in Kapurthala jail in connection with an attempt to murder and Arms Act case registered by the Jalandhar police on January 15. He said he was brought on production warrant and arrested in the case. On his disclosure, the police seized 826 gm of gold jewellery, 200 gm of silver ornaments and Rs 2.5 lakh cash.