Four nabbed for robbery

One accused was victims ex-staff, knew his routine

Three men have been arrested in West Bengal’s Jalpaiguri district for robbing a businessman of Rs 7 lakh at west Delhi’s Peeragarhi. A former employee of the victim has also been arrested for his ties  with the criminals, police said on Tuesday.

Damandeep Chawla, Gautam Mehra and Punit Sahni were held at New Jalpaiguri railway station on Monday, while their fourth accomplice Mohit was arrested in the city.

“Mohit had worked with Rakesh’s company and was familiar with many businessmen who used to carry cash in routine. So, Mohit used to provide information about these businessmen to his gang members,” said V Renganathan, additional commissioner of police (west).

 Action was taken after Rakesh Bansal of Rohini sector 3 was robbed outside his office at Ashoka Enclave in Peeragarhi on March 14.

“Two men were involved in the robbery, and when he resisted, they hit him on his nose,” Renganathan added.

The robbers fled from the spot in a Hyundai Accent car in which three men were already present.

During investigation, it was found that some robbed articles were thrown at Jammu and Kashmir’s Udhampur district. A police team was sent to Udhampur, and they managed to track involvement of Damandeep. His mobile phone number was put on surveillance and it was found that he was in contact with Mohit, a former employee of Rakesh.

“Mohit was arrested in 2011 and later released for lodging a fake robbery case. It confirmed that he was involved in the robbery,” Renganathan said.

The probe further revealed that Damandeep was going to Jalpaiguri by North East Express train. Immediately, inspector Maninder Singh and sub-inspector Naveen Kumar were sent there by flight.

“Our team reached New Jalpaiguri railway station before the arrival time of the train and apprehended Damandeep, Punit and Gautam,” Renganathan added.
During interrogation, they confessed their involvement in robbing Rakesh and five others. “The car used in the robbery was also robbed from Dwarka,” Renganathan said.

Efforts are being made to arrest thier fifth accomplice.