According to the Punjab Police, Mandeep Kaur and her husband Jaswinder Singh are the masterminds of a daring robbery at the office of a cash management firm in Ludhiana.
New Delhi: A couple who allegedly masterminded a daring multi-crore heist was struck by a craving for a fruit-flavoured drink near Uttarakhand’s Hemkund Sahib.
According to the Punjab Police, Mandeep Kaur and her husband Jaswinder Singh are the masterminds of a daring robbery at the office of a cash management firm in Ludhiana. Armed robbers overpowered the guards at the CMS Services office on 10 June and stole ₹8 crore in cash.
After the robbery, Mandeep Kaur and Jaswinder Singh went on a pilgrimage to the Sikh shrine of Hemkund Sahib, apparently to thank God for the success of their mission, Mandeep Singh Sidhu told the Ludhiana Police Commission.
The police received information that the couple was planning to flee to Nepal, but a lookout notice blocked their plans. They then decided to visit Hemkund Sahib, Kedarnath and Haridwar before planning their next move.
According to the police, even though they knew that Mandeep Kaur and Jaswinder Singh were in Hemkund Sahib, the task was to identify them in the crowd of devotees.
A free beverage kiosk was set up and fruit flavored packets were given to the devotees. Unaware of the trap they had set for them, the couple came to the kiosk, took their backpacks, uncovered their faces and took a sip. The police identified them but made no move. They waited for the couple to finish their prayers.
As they were leaving the shrine after the prayers, the police arrested them. Both were caught after a short chase.
Police Commissioner Sidhu said an amount of ₹21 crore was recovered from the couple. Out of the loot worth ₹8 crore, the police have so far managed to recover an amount of nearly ₹6 crore. Police said they have arrested nine accused in the case.
Punjab Police Chief Gaurav Yadav said the masterminds of the Ludhiana robbery were arrested in less than 100 hours. “Police teams used a professional and scientific approach to solve a multi-million dollar robbery,” he added.
The official Twitter handle of the Ludhiana Police said this must serve as a “chilling reminder to all anti-social elements”.
