Posing as cops, gang of 4 used 'nakas' to rob commuters in Batala

Ravi Dhaliwal

Batala, December 27

Residents heaved a sigh of relief when the Batala police, in a much-awaited breakthrough, busted a gang posing as policemen and setting up checkposts in and around the city to rob residents of cash and valuables.

Threatened people with drug frame-up

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• Posing as cops, gang members used to set up ‘nakas’ on the outskirts of the city
• They threatened people that they would plant drugs on them
• Fearing arrest, panicky residents would hand over money & valuables to them

SSP Satinder Singh said for the past few weeks, he had been receiving complaints from harried residents that “some policemen were looting them at nakas after claiming that they (residents) were in the possession of drugs”.

After the complaints started piling up, the SSP formed a special team, led by DSP (City) Lalit Kumar.

Acting on a tip-off that a “policeman”, who was spotted a few hours earlier at a “naka”, was roaming under suspicious circumstances in the crowded Sukh Singh-Mehtab Singh Chowk area, Lalit Kumar and his team rushed to the spot.

He started questioning the “policeman”, who was in uniform, and got suspicious when he started getting vague answers. Jagdeep Singh, a resident of Dhariwal, admitted to his crime after being subjected to sustained interrogation. The police seized 70 gm of heroin from him.

His modus operandi was to establish checkposts on roads on the outskirts of the city. “He and his accomplices would then tell people that they would plant drugs on them. Fearing they would be arrested, panicky residents would hand over whatever money and valuables they had,” said the SSP.

He said the police were hunting for Jadgeep’s three accomplices.