Rs 8.49-crore Ludhiana robbery: Rs 50 lakh cash found from septic tank at house of mastermind

Ludhiana, June 15

In the ongoing investigation of the Rs 8.49-crore robbery, which had occurred at the office of CMS Info Systems Ltd in Ludhiana in the early hours of June 10, police on Thursday claimed to have recovered Rs 75 lakh in cash. Out of this, Rs 50 lakh (bundles of cash) was recovered from a septic at the residence of one of the main robbery accused, Manjinder Singh alias Mani, who was employed at CMS company.

The police on Wednesday said six accused were arrested and around Rs 5 crore were reportedly recovered from them. Now, a total of around Rs 5.75 crore have been “recovered” from the arrested accused. Five identified accused are still at large.

During a press conference held today, Commissioner of Police Mandeep Singh Sidhu said following the interrogation of one of the masterminds Manjinder Singh alias Mani, from Abbuwal village, it was revealed that he had concealed Rs 50 lakh cash inside a septic tank at his residence. “Acting on this information, the police recovered Rs 50 lakh cash, which was wrapped in polythene and tied with a brick, from the septic tank located at Manjinder’s house. Several Rs 500 denomination currency notes were found in a damp condition. The police had on June 13 recovered Rs 1 crore from Manjinder,” he said.

The police commissioner added that Rs 25 lakh have been recovered from another arrested accused, Narinder Singh, also known as Happy, from Kothe Hari Singh village. He said Narinder had buried Rs 25 lakh cash in a plot situated near his residence.

Police have arrested Manjinder Singh alias Mani, Mandeep Singh alias Vicky, Harwinder Singh alias Lambu, Narinder Singh alias Happy, Paramjit Singh alias Pamma and Harpreet Singh so far. Accused Mandeep Kaur, her husband Jaswinder Singh, Arun Kumar, Nanni and Gulshan are still at large.

Sidhu said the police are actively conducting a search for another mastermind Mandeep Kaur and her husband. A lookout circular has been issued for their apprehension. He said 4-5 police teams are also searching for the accused in other states.

Meanwhile, Sidhu said they have also asked the CMS company to provide records regarding the cash available in the office at the time of the robbery. A special investigation team (SIT) is conducting an inquiry to ascertain whether the company officials had disclosed the accurate amount that was looted or they had exaggerated the figure.