What was initially reported as a ₹15 lakh jewellery robbery at the home of a renowned doctor couple in Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar turned out to be a multi-crore heist, with police recovering a whopping ₹3.51 crore from four arrested robbers on Tuesday.
The four arrested suspects were Gurwinder Singh Sonu (39) of Sua Road, Pavneet Singh Shalu (42) of Dugri, Jagpreet Singh (22) and Sahildeep Singh (21), all from Tarn Taran.
On September 14, Dr. Harkamal Bagga arrived home around 8:40 PM. The watchman opened the main gate, and her husband, Dr. Wahegurupal Singh, was already home. A few minutes later, four masked men scaled the boundary wall and barged inside.
They flashed a weapon, held Dr Singh and the watchman hostage, and tied them up with tape. Then, the accused took Dr Bagga to the storeroom, where the cash and jewellery were kept, and looted it.
The couple is authorized to live and work in these countries such as Canada, Australia and New Zealand.
Ludhiana Police Commissioner Mandeep Singh Sidhu said at a press conference that the doctor couple initially claimed a robbery of ₹15 lakh, but the police recovered ₹3.51 crore in cash and ₹20 lakh worth of jewellery.
Gurwinder Singh Sonu has four previous cases of cheating and forgery against him and Pavneet Singh Shalu has three previous cases of snatching and theft.
The police also recovered the couple's stolen Maruti SX4 vehicle. A first information report (FIR) was registered under Sections 392, 506, and 34 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and 25/54/59 of the Arms Act at the Dugri police station.