Missing cash: ASI, who helped accused, held

Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, April 24

Probing the case related to the alleged Rs 6.66-crore robbery committed by a Khanna police team at the house of Father Anthony Madassery on March 29, the Special Investigation Team has arrested an ASI. The team has also recovered two cars used in the crime.

ASI Dilbagh Singh, who is a resident of Khanna but posted in Patiala, had reportedly been contacted by the three accused in the case to bring his Maruti Swift car (PB-69-B-0055) at a point near Mandi in Khanna. The trio, including absconding ASIs Jagmohan Singh and Rajpreet Singh and informer Surinder Singh (arrested), who were travelling in a Hyundai Verna car with the looted cash, shifted the money to his car before moving to the CIA police station at Khanna to join the rest of the raiding team.

“ASI Dilbagh Singh was summoned by the SIT today after cognisable evidence had been established against him. Since he could not give satisfactory reply against these evidences, we arrested him and confiscated his car,” said AIG, Crime, Punjab, and member of the SIT Rakesh Kaushal. Even after the lodging of the FIR in the case, Dilbagh Singh was working normally on his duty as a Sanjh Kendra staff member in Patiala. He was reportedly also running a business of arhtiya at Khanna in the name of his son.

The SIT has so far not taken the Patiala-based bookie in loop who owned the car used by the three main accused during raid in Jalandhar. “He did not inform the police about his ‘car loot’ incident which he reported only after the police on its own found him out as the owner of the car. His role is under scanner but we have not taken any step against him,” said a member of the SIT.