Patiala: Four days on, Ghagga robbery case cracked, 5 in police net

Patiala, February 7

Within four days after the incident, the police today claimed to have cracked the robbery case of Ghagga with the arrest of five accused. Of Rs 28 lakh looted by the robbers, the police have recovered Rs 26 lakh from them.

The case had led to unrest among traders of Ghagga as the accused had barged into the house of the victim and robbed him of the money.

According to Patiala SSP Varun Sharma, accused Jagdev Singh Jagga was an employee at the provision store of victim Sanjiv Kumar. “Sanjiv had recently sought help from his relatives to get his nephew treated and he had collected Rs 28 lakh from the purpose. Jagga was aware of the money received by Sanjiv and he, along with his accomplices, conspired to rob it,” said the SSP.

A team, led by CIA in charge Shaminder Singh and Samana CIA in charge Manpreet Singh and SHOs, arrested the five accused involved in the crime following a tip-off. The police have recovered a bike, an air pistol and Rs 26 lakh.

Those arrested are Amrik Singh, Debu Ram, Banti, Ramesh Ram and Jagdev Singh, all residents of Bazigar Basti, Ghagga. “Accused Jagdev contacted his cousin Amrik Singh who offered money to the other three accused and together they plotted the robbery. Amrik already faces an FIR under the NDPS Act, while accused Banti faces 19 FIRs pertaining to theft,” said the SSP.

The complainant, Sanjeev Kumar of Ghagga, runs a provision store and his house is located in the same building. Around 2 am on Sunday, three masked men, carrying sharp weapons, barged into his house and asked the family to hand over the keys of a particular almirah.

“Since initial probe, we had suspected the role of an insider as the robbers were particular in asking for cash and it showed that they were getting inputs from someone who knew about the money,” said the police. “The remaining Rs 2 lakh will be recovered soon,” they stated.