Couple Stole Rs 8 Crore In Daring Heist: How A Drink Break Helped Cops Nab Them
A couple who allegedly masterminded a daring multi-crore heist were caught due to their craving for a fruit-flavoured drink near Uttarakhand's Hemkund Sahib.
According to Punjab Police, Mandeep Kaur and her husband Jaswinder Singh are kingpins of the daring heist at the office of a cash management firm at Ludhiana. Armed robbers overpowered guards at the office of CMS Services on June 10 and stole ? 8 crore in cash. Here's how everything happened.
The daring Rs 8 crore heist
At least 11 people robbed the office of CMS Securities, a cash management services company, in Ludhiana's New Rajguru Nagar locality after overpowering security guards.
Among the team of 11 robbers, Mandeep Singh alias Mani was the mastermind who used to work as a driver with the cash transporting company till four years ago. He allegedly planned the heist with a woman friend of his who has been identified as?Mandeep Kaur?and her husband?Jaswinder Singh.
According to the police, the robbers came to the company office in two groups ¨C five on two motorbikes and others in a car with?Mandeep Kaur. The car had mounted atop it a flickering beacon, common with cash collection firm vans.
Mani was a former cash collection firm employee and the cops said they knew about the hack and that if the van had a flickering beacon it was not to be stopped by police for checks.?The police said the beacon can only be operated by some experts, such as a former employee.Armed robbers stole ?8 crore from the office of CMS Securities on 10 June.
Following the robbery, Mandeep Kaur and Jaswinder Singh went on a pilgrimage to Sikh shrine Hemkund Sahib, apparently to thank God for the success of their mission, Ludhiana Police Commission Mandeep Singh Sidhu said.
How did the cops nab them?
Police had received information that the couple had planned 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 step.According to police, even though they knew Mandeep Kaur and Jaswinder Singh were in Hemkund Sahib, the challenge was to identify them in the crowd of devotees.
A free drinks kiosk was set up and packets of a fruit-flavoured drink handed over to devotees. Unaware of the trap laid for them, the couple came to the kiosk, took their packs, uncovered their faces and sipped.
The police identified them, but did not make any move. They waited for the couple to finish their prayers.As they walked out of the shrine after their prayers, police moved to arrest them. The two were caught after a short chase.
So far, police have arrested 9 out of the 12 people accused in the case apart from the couple, including another suspect named Gaurav, who was apprehended from Gidderbaha in Punjab.
The operation to catch the couple was called ¡®Let¡¯s catch the queen bee¡¯. Ludhiana Commissioner of Police Mandeep Singh Sidhu said Rs 12 lakh was recovered from Mandeep¡¯s two-wheeler, and Rs 9 lakh from her husband Jaswinder¡¯s Barnala house.
According to police, nearly Rs 6 crore has been recovered so far out of the Rs 8 crore loot.
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