Hindustan Times (Chandigarh)

Petrol station robbery: Punjabi university student among 2 held

- HT Correspond­ent

PATIALA: Five days after two persons were killed by three armed robbers during a petrol pump heist here, two accused, including a student of Punjabi university, were arrested on Friday. However, the main accused is still on the run.

The arrested accused have been identified as Sikander Singh, a first-year student of MA philosophy in Punjabi university, who hails from Dhadrian village of Sangrur district, and Harpreet Singh of Saifdipur village situated on the backside of the university.

Police have launched a manhunt to arrest the third and main accused, identified as Lakhandeep Singh alias Waris Randhawa of Dera Baba Nanak in Gurdaspur district.

Inspector general of police (IGP) AS Rai said the accused were drug addicts and were under “high influence” of smack and liquor at the time of committing the crime.

“All the three accused are history-sheeters, who were declared proclaimed offenders in cases like snatching and robbery in several police stations,” the IGP said.

He added that Sikander was putting up in a paying guest accommodat­ion near the university and Lakhandeep, who was known to him, was staying with him for the past few days.

“The accused did a recce at two petrol pumps before committing the crime at the petrol station on Patiala-zirakpur highway. They fired at the victims before looting Rs 11,000 from them,” Rai said.

Police said on the basis of CCTV footage gathered from the crime spot, the investigat­ors zeroed in on Lakhandeep.

“Police first arrested Harpreet and during his interrogat­ion, he revealed Sikander’s role in the robbery. Later, Sikandar was arrested too,” Rai said.

On links of the accused with the gangsters, the IGP said Lakhandeep is a notorious character as several cases have been registered against him in border areas.

Meanwhile, police recovered two weapons, .315 bore and .32 bore pistols, and a Royal Enfield (Bullet) motorcycle (PB 13AZ 4456) used in the crime. The bike is owned by Sikander. Police also confiscate­d 300gm drug from their possession.

On June 17, the trio held employees of the Guru Nanak filling station at Chamarheri village captive at gunpoint. The assailants fired at Kuldeep Singh, a driver who was refuelling his truck. The assailants then asked one of the employees, Laddi, to hand over the money. They frisked him and found Rs 6,000 in his pocket.

They then searched Kuldeep, who was lying in a pool of blood, and took away Rs 5,000 from him.

Hearing the gunshots, Davinder Singh of Alampur village, who was sitting at his friend’s dhaba adjacent the petrol pump, reached the spot and tried to nab one of the robbers. SINGAPORE : A 57-year-old Indianorig­in Singaporea­n woman, accused of being involved in the largest bribery case in the history of the US Navy, may face a jail term of more than three years, a media report said on Friday.

Sharon Rachael Gursharan Kaur, who was a lead contract specialist for the US Navy, was allegedly involved in the US $35-million (around ₹245 crore) ‘Fat Leonard’ scandal, which resulted in the arrest and conviction of several senior officers of the US Navy, The Straits Times reported.

Kaur, was based at the US Navy’s Supply Systems Command Fleet Logistics Centre in Singapore. The court heard on Thursday that she received more than 130,000 Singaporea­n dollars in bribes from Leonard Glenn Francis, the Malaysian chief executive of Glenn Defense Marine Asia (GDMA) — a subsidiary of Singapore-based Glenn Marine Group — which provides goods and services for American ships.

Francis, also known to several US Navy personnel as ‘Fat Leonard’, had allegedly paid Kaur bribes between 2006 and 2011 as a reward for giving him informatio­n about the US Navy that was not available to the public.

She would disclose procuremen­t-sensitive data and price informatio­n of his firm’s competitor­s. As a result, he was able to prepare more competitiv­e bids to secure contracts with the US Navy.

All the three accused are historyshe­eters, who have been declared proclaimed offenders in cases like snatching and robbery. AS RAI, inspector general of police

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