Congress sarpanch from Chamkaur Sahib plotted Rs 17L bank robbery in Patiala's Ghanaur, held

Patiala, November 29

A 35-year-old Congress sarpanch from Chamkaur Sahib turned out to be the mastermind of the Rs 17 lakh Ghanaur bank robbery that took place on Monday. Considered close to a former CM, Amandeep Singh, sarpanch of Hafzahbad village, was arrested along with his three accomplices within hours of the robbery at a UCO Bank branch.

Police sources said Amandeep had a criminal past and wanted to make it big in politics. He was a member of the Block Congress Committee, Chamkaur Sahib, and headed some cooperative societies as well.

Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Varun Sharma said the robbed amount had been recovered and a team headed by Patiala CIA in-charge Shaminder Singh nabbed the four accused from near Chamkaur Sahib on Tuesday.

“The other accused have been identified as Dilpreet Singh, Paramdyaal Singh and Narinder Singh,” he said.

The accused barged into the UCO Bank’s Ghanaur branch and looted Rs 17 lakh after holding bank officials and customers hostage at gunpoint. “They had come on an autorickshaw and escaped on a bike of a customer. They later got into a car that was waiting for them at some distance. A close-circuit television camera (CCTV) footage helped us trace the car and the accused,” said the Senior Superintendent of Police.

A senior police officer claimed Amandeep and one of his aides had on November 10 looted Rs 4.5 lakh from an SBI branch at Sanghol. He was evading arrest in the case. — TNS

History-sheeter

• Amandeep Singh, 3 aides robbed Rs 17 lakh from UCO Bank, Ghanaur
• All four arrested from near Chamkaur Sahib; cops recover the robbed amount
• Amandeep earlier looted Rs 4.5 lakh from SBI branch at Sanghol and was evading arrest