Ludhiana: Ludhiana Rural Police claimed that the recent robbery involving Verka Milk Plant general manager Surjit Singh was the result of a business dispute and personal grudge.Police have arrested two of the five accused allegedly involved in the crime and are conducting raids to apprehend the remaining three.The arrested accused have been identified as Preetpal Singh of Kotman village and Gurpreet Singh alias Gopi of Sherewal village. Both are currently on a two-day police remand.According to the police, Preetpal Singh was engaged in the milk transportation business and had vehicles supplying milk to Verka Milk Plant. Surjit Singh, who is presently posted as general manager at the Ferozepur plant, had allegedly removed one of Preetpal’s vehicles from the supply network over a deficiency, leading to resentment.Investigators said Preetpal subsequently developed a grudge against the officer and allegedly began monitoring his movements. Police claimed that he later enlisted four other youths to carry out an attack on Surjit Singh.The accused allegedly intercepted the general manager near the Nanaksar bridge, assaulted him and snatched his mobile phone. During the incident, they also allegedly forced him to transfer Rs 2 lakh online through his mobile banking application before fleeing.Police said five persons were involved in the robbery. While Preetpal Singh and Gurpreet Singh have been arrested, efforts are underway to trace the remaining accused.Inspector Parminder Singh, SHO of City Jagraon police station, said preliminary investigations revealed that Preetpal had allegedly hatched the conspiracy after his vehicle was removed from milk supply duties.“The accused wanted to teach the victim a lesson over the dispute. Two persons have been arrested and raids are being conducted to arrest the remaining accused,” the SHO said.Police said further investigation in the case is underway to establish the roles of all the accused and recover any remaining evidence linked to the crime.
