Mastermind of the gang Jaipal and accused Gurshahid alias Shera are national-level hammer throwers. They came in contact at a sports event in Patiala last year, the police said. Also, Jaipal is the person who had kidnapped Chirag, son of a Ludhiana-based cinema owner in 2004.

These facts were reportedly disclosed by Shera, who is in custody of the Panchkula police at present, which got his custody from a court in Chandigarh to probe the Sector-20 bank robbery.

Shera reportedly told the police that he had cleared the IELTS exam and was preparing to go abroad but he met Jaipal and got lured by the world of crime.

Before their arrest, both were planning to rob the Sector-20 bank again, the police said.

“The gang was planning to strike the Sector-20 bank again, looking for a bigger target this time,” a senior police officer said.

A BA second year student of Shri Guru Gobind Singh College in Sector 26, Shera (21) is the son of a food and supply inspector in Abohar, Punjab. He joined the gang when Jaipal asked for his help as he was “facing a financial crunch”.

“Shera met Jaipal during a practice game in Patiala last year. Jaipal told him his father, a Punjab Police officer, had met with an accident and the family was undergoing a financial crunch. Jaipal requested Shera to help him in freeing his friend Raja (accused in highway robberies) from the Punjab Police’s custody in Barnala,” a police officer said.

Jaipal had met Raja a few years ago in Ludhiana jail, where he (Raja) was lodged in a robbery case.

“Shera stayed in a rented flat in Sector 51, Chandigarh, with Jaipal. Chandu (absconding) and Tinu (son of a Chandigarh Police inspector, who is in police custody in connection with the highway robberies) also used to hide there after committing robberies in nearby areas,” the officer said.

“They had planned a robbery in the Sector-20 bank a night before. Chandu and Shera were sent to the bank to cut the siren wires. The next day, the four of them reached the parking lot of the bank around 11 am, waited for an hour and then struck havoc.”

Shera further told the police that after the robbery, they fled in their Honda CRV towards Dhakoli, and after crossing Mohali, reached their flat in Sector 51. The same Honda CRV was used by Jaipal and his accomplices in other highway robberies.

Jaipal and Shera were arrested when they were returning to their flat in Chandigarh from Ludhiana after robbing Rs 4.5 lakh.

Now, the Panchkula police will seek the custody of Tinu and Jaipal from the court. “Once the Chandigarh Police interrogates them, we will ask for their custody for further leads,” the officer said.

JAIPAL WAS HEADING TWO GANGS

Jaipal was reportedly heading two gangs — highway robbers and bank robbers. Chandu, Tinu and Shera were his accomplices in the bank robberies in Panchkula and Mohali.Meanwhile, he committed the highway robberies with the aid of Bhupinder, Raja, Romi and Chandu, who was his confidante.

MEMBERS OF THE TWO GANGS DIDN’T KNOW EACH OTHER

“Jaipal was a master coordinator. His accomplices in the bank and highway robberies were not familiar with each other. Except Chandu and Jaipal, there was no link between the two sets of accused,” a senior police officer said.

PARTNERS IN CRIME

* Shera and Jaipal freed Raja from the Punjab Police’s custody in Barnala

* Jaipal, Shera and Tinu were involved in the Mohali bank robbery

* Shera, Jaipal and Tinu snatched a Swift car in Khanna

* Shera, Jaipal and Tinu snatched a Tata Safari in

Jalandhar

* Shera, Jaipal, Chandu and Tinu were involved in the Panchkula Sector-20 robbery

* Shera and Jaipal robbed Rs 4.5 lakh in Ludhiana