Ludhiana gold dacoity mastermind arrested from Mohali

File Photo

Chandigarh: The Punjab Police on Monday arrested the alleged mastermind behind the recent 2 kg gold dacoity in Ludhiana, which he had reportedly committed to mobilise funds for carrying out a spate of targeted killings as part of a pro-Khalistan agenda to disturb the state’s peace & communal harmony and spread mayhem.

DGP Dinkar Gupta disclosed that a set of Punjab Police uniform, along with an ID card of Seema Suraksha Bal (SSB) - a paramilitary force of MHA , were seized from Tejinder, who was also the prime accused in the January 2020 car-jacking incident of a Toyota Fortuner from Kharar. 

The accused reportedly planned to use the uniform and card etc to gain access to restricted areas for commission of various kinds of crimes, including terrorist actions, said Gupta, adding that he clearly posed a high security risk to the state.

The police have also recovered from Tejinder’s possession a Chinese 30 caliber Pistol, 10 cartridges and one Chevrolet Optra car.

Teja, who had been arrested earlier too for involvement in more than 25 criminal cases including murder, attempt to murder, car-jacking, dacoity etc., further disclosed that he was radicalized and motivated to carry out targeted killings by some hardcore terrorists in whose contact he came during his stints in various prisons.

During preliminary questioning, Tejinder Singh @ Teja also revealed that he and his close associate Rachpal Singh @ Daula r/o Village Bhuchar Kalan (district Tarn Taran) were planning to loot a bank cash van used to transport currency from main branches of SBI to ATMs in Maur and Talwandi Sabo. They had also checked out the route and conducted a recce for the same.

A criminal case has been registered against Tejinder Singh @ Teja and his associates at State Special Operation Cell (SSOC) SAS Nagar under Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and other relevant sections of law. Further investigations are in progress.