Dappar ATM theft case cracked

Tribune News Service

Mohali, October 19

With the arrest of a member of the “Shutter gang” last night, the Mohali CIA claims to have worked out the case in which thieves took away an ATM containing Rs 18.43 lakh from a branch of Punjab National Bank at Dappar, Lalru, in the wee hours of Octorber 16.

The police have arrested Dharminder Singh, alias DM. The remaining four members of the gang — kingpin Ranjit Singh, his brother Dharamraj, alias Dhamma, Krishan Kumar, alias Ballu, and Pittal, all residents of Mauli Jagran, manged to give the police the slip.

The police claimed to have recovered two vehicles — a Tata crane and an Esteem car — used for taking away the ATM after cutting it with a gas cutter. However, the police are yet to recover the ATM.

Mohali Senior Superintendent of Police Gurpreet Singh Bhullar said all gang members were hardcore criminals. “More than 150 cases of dacoity, loot, robbery, vehicle theft and theft in shops and houses have been registered against the kingpin, Ranjit Singh, in Punjab, Chandigarh, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh while DM has over 10 cases of similar nature registered against him in various police stations. Both had recently come out of Ambala Jail on bail,” said the SSP.  

He said all five of them were involved in the Dappar ATM theft case. “After coming out of jail, the gang members committed thefts in some stores at Panchkula. They then went to Solan in a stolen Maruti car and committed thefts in six shops there after breaking open the locks. After their return, the gang members stole a Honda City car from Mohali and went to Phagwara where they again broke into five shops. The gang took away the Tata crane from Kharar on their return and abandoned the Honda City car in Mohali. The crane was used for taking away the ATM from Dappar,” said the SSP.

He said the ATM had been kept by Ranjit and Dharamraj at some place.    

“When our team, along with a team of the Chandigarh Police, raided the thieves’ residences at Mauli Jagran last night, their family members and relatives attacked the police with bricks, stones and blunt weapons and also threw LPG cylinders on them. In the melee, four thieves managed to give the police the slip while DM was arrested from Harmilap Nagar near Baltana later,” said Bhullar.

A case under Sections 395 and 379 has been registered at the Lalru police station in connection with the ATM theft.