Police arrest mastermind of highway robbery gang involved in 53 incidents of blackmail, extortion

Police said that the gang had been operating for a long time across Panchkula, Mohali and Ambala, targeting highway commuters.

The Crime Branch of Panchkula police (Sector 19) has arrested the mastermind of a highway robbery gang that carried out 53 incidents of robbery, blackmail and extortion by luring motorists under the pretext of offering a lift.

As per the police, the accused, Deepak Kumar, alias Deepu, a resident of Dhandardu village and currently living as a tenant in Sector 12-A, Panchkula, was apprehended from Pinjore Garden on January 2.

Police said the accused was a Rs 5,000 reward-carrying criminal and had been actively involved in crime for nearly 12 years. A total of 19 criminal cases, including snatching, robbery, attempt to murder and illegal arms trafficking, are registered against him in Panchkula and Mohali. He was produced before a court, which granted three days of police remand for the recovery of looted cash and weapons used in the crimes.

ACP (Crime) Arvind Kamboj said that on December 15, a truck driver from Himachal Pradesh lodged a complaint at Chandimandir police station. The victim stated that on December 13, while transporting goods from Baddi to Dehradun, he stopped his vehicle near Chandimandir after a woman asked for a lift around 5 am. The woman claimed she wanted to go to the IT Park, Nada Sahib. When the driver slowed down near the Ghaggar river bridge on the Panchkula–Yamunanagar highway, two men emerged from a WagonR car, threatened him with a knife, looted Rs 2,400 in cash and his mobile phone, and forced him to transfer Rs 50,000 via Google Pay at knifepoint. A robbery case was thus registered.

Following the complaint, a Crime Branch team led by Inspector Mukesh Saini had arrested Ashok Kumar of Bareilly (Uttar Pradesh) and Sunny Kumar Sachdeva of Fazilka (Punjab) on December 17 near Suraj Cinema, Sector 1, Panchkula. The WagonR car used in the crime was recovered from them. On December 18, the woman accused Sandeep Kaur, alias Mahi, alias Deepu, a resident of Ferozepur (Punjab), was also arrested.

DCP (Crime and Traffic) Manpreet Singh Soodan said that during interrogation, the accused confessed to their involvement in 53 cases of snatching, extortion and blackmail in Panchkula, Mohali and Ambala. Several criminal cases are also registered against them in Punjab.