Gang runs out of luck after 15 robberies in Ludhiana

Ludhiana: Division Number 4 police have busted an inter-state gang of robbers who used to snatch vehicles and belongings at gunpoint. Police said the gang that had been active for the past more than one-and-a-half years committed more than 15 robberies and snatchings in Ludhiana and the surrounding areas.

The 7-member gang had also committed crimes in several other districts of Punjab.

The police have recovered five stolen cars, five mobile phones, one .32 bore revolver with two live cartridges, one country-made pistol with one live cartridge, one air gun, two swords and a sharp-edged weapon from their possession.

Police said all accused were involved in crimes since they were teenagers and have already been facing trial in separate cases of snatchings, thefts and robberies. They had met in the jail where they formed a gang.

During questioning, the accused confessed to have committed crimes in Ludhiana, Sangrur, Beas, Rajpura, Sirhind, Jalandhar and Amritsar.

The accused were identified as Akashdeep Singh Aakash, Arshdeep Singh, Sattdeep Singh, Ankush Kumar, Sharandeep Singh, Akashdeep Singh of Sangrur and Mohammad Kaleem of Shingar Cinema road, Ludhiana.

All the accused aged between 20 and 25 years are addicted to heroin.

The accused, who had come to the city to execute another crime in Field Gunj area, were apprehended near Pulli Shiv Mandir near Buddha Nullah following a tip-off.

ADCP-1 Gurpreet Singh Sikand said, “The accused were involved in thefts and snatchings since their teenaged years. Later in 2018, when Akashdeep Singh Aakash and Narinder Singh met in Sangrur jail and they formed a gang with their aides.”

Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP- Central) Waryam Singh said the accused had procured a country-made pistol from Uttar Pradesh at Rs 20,000 which they used to rob and carjack people. The other .32 bore revolver is a licensed weapon which they had snatched from a resident of Malerkotla. They had abducted him, robbed him of cash and weapon on February 26. They accused had used stolen vehicles for carrying out robberies and snatchings.”

Police said the accused used to hide stolen vehicles at isolated places for a few days before using them in crime with fake number plates.

With the arrest of accused, the police have traced four snatching cases including two in Ludhiana, one at Sangrur and another at Fatehgarh Sahib. Police said Akashdeep Singh Aakash is facing trial in 15 cases, Arshdeep Singh in three cases, Akashdeep Singh in three cases, Sharandeep Singh in two cases, and Mohammad Kaleem and Sattdeep Singh in one case each.