Ludhiana: A former employee was among those who robbed a liquor company of ₹17 lakh, targeting one of its cash collection agents on April 17. Police on Friday announced the arrests of the trio who had spent much of the loot on drugs and hotels.Dugri police arrested Gurdeep Singh ‘Bobby’, 21, of Shaheed Karnail Singh Nagar; Harmanpreet Singh ‘Honey’, 24, of Dashmesh Nagar, Humbran Road; and Dheeraj Kumar ‘Changla’, 24, of Shaheed Karnail Singh Nagar, Pakhowal Road. Police also recovered almost ₹11 lakh of the stolen amount, besides a getawauy motorcycle and knives used in the crime.Gurdeep, who had quit the company five months ago after two months on the job, knew the daily cash deposit routine at the Vishal Nagar office. “We traced and arrested the three men involved during the investigation,” Deputy commissioner of police (rural) Jaskiranjit Singh Teja said. “We recovered ₹4.1 lakh from Gurdeep and ₹3.2 lakh each from Harmanpreet and Dheeraj.”Robbers had assaulted Hardeep Singh, a company worker, around 10pm outside the Vishal Nagar office on April 17 and fled with the cash. Initially, the case was registered against unidentified assailants based on a complaint from Shivkaran Singh, a company partner.Gurdeep had conspired with his friends, exploiting his insider knowledge of cash collection timings from vends and offices, DCP Teja said. The investigaiton revealed how the group had spent the remaining ₹6 lakh on drugs, alcohol, and hotel stays while evading arrest, he added.
