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.

... contd.