The Ludhiana rural police claimed to have cracked the robbery that occurred on July 23 at Chopra Hospital on Raikot Road in Jagraon here. The crime was masterminded by a former daughter-in-law of the victim doctor and also orchestrated by another woman.
The police now arrested a total of five suspects, including a couple and their daughter, Pawanpreet Kaur, who executed the crime.
SSP Ankur Gupta said Pawanpreet Kaur, is a resident of Leela Megh Singh village. Investigation had revealed that she executed the entire robbery.
According to the police probe, the complainant, Dr Vijay Chopra, had a divorced son. His former daughter-in-law provided crucial information regarding hospital operations, cash and jewellery to Pawanpreet Kaur. Based on the information, Pawanpreet executed the robbery. The police are now taking action to arrest the complainant’s former daughter-in-law by naming her in the case. The other four suspects who were arrested are identified as Rahul Singh, Akashdeep Singh, alias Akash, Beant Kaur and her husband Balwant Singh, all residents of Sidhwan Bet. Pawandeep Kaur is the daughter of Beant Kaur and Balwant. The police also recovered the jeep and motorcycle used in the crime.
However, five other suspects involved in the robbery remain at large and police teams are conducting raids to apprehend them.
On July 23, some criminals entered Chopra Hospital while posing as patients. They held Dr Chopra and his wife hostage at gunpoint. They then looted cash, gold rings and mobile phones worth lakhs of rupees.
SSP Ankur Gupta said the suspects had created a WhatsApp group to plan the robbery. The crime plan was discussed in the group and discussions were also held regarding the successful execution of the robbery. The police collected technical evidence of the chat, which can be presented as crucial evidence in court. Pawanpreet Kaur, who executed the robbery, involved her parents and younger brother in the crime. The father of Pawanpreet Kaur, Balwant Singh, younger brother Harry and mother stood near the old government hospital with a jeep while the other suspects reached the hospital on a stolen bike, which remained there at the time of the incident. After which, the suspects ran to the jeep and fled the scene. Two cases, including robbery, had already been registered against Pawanpreet Kaur in different police stations of SAS Nagar.
Former daughter-in-law of Dr Vijay Chopra gave complete information about the hospital and the house to the accomplice of the criminals. Then the Pawanpreet Kaur first went to the hospital as a patient for several days on the pretext of taking medicine and kept doing recce. During this time, she gathered complete information about the opening time of the hospital, opening time of the nearby market, the daily routine of the doctor and the possible escape routes after the incident. Then she, along with her accomplices, had planned the robbery. As per the plan, the woman, along with others, first went to the hospital to get medicine by posing as a patient and then on Thursday morning, with the intention of committing the crime, some of the suspects reached the place on a stolen bike, where they misled the doctor while administering glucose and committed the robbery.