Ex-home guard among 4 arrested for highway robberies

A former Home Guard, who had run up debts due to betting on IPL matches, and three other members of a gang have been arrested for allegedly robbing goods from trucks on highways after making their drivers unconscious.
Police said that the arrested have been identified as Pradeep Kumar, Somvir Singh, Deepak Verma, who was earlier a constable with Delhi Home Guard, and Yogesh.
162 cartoons of expensive life saving medicine worth Rs 30 lakh, 407 buckets of paints worth Rs 16.5 lakh, 100 bags of plastic 'dana', 124 tablets of intoxicants and a jeep were recovered from their possession.

Deepak used to receive stolen goods from the other three accused and was in debt due to his addiction to gambling on IPL cricket matches.
"The gang would target trucks parked at isolated places outside industrial areas on road side. They carried bottles of water in which a sedative was mixed. They would overpower the driver and cleaner of the truck and force them to drink the laced water.
"After drinking the water, the victims would fall unconscious and the gang would unload the goods and abandon the trucks," said a senior police official.
Police said that they got information that two wanted highway robbers were coming towards Satyawadi Raja Harish Chandra Hospital on May 9, adding that acting on tip-off, police laid a trap and arrested Pradeep Kumar and Somvir Singh.

"Later, Deepak Verma and Yogesh were also arrested. All the four accused were wanted in several highway robberies. Police are also interrogating the accused about the hideouts of their other accomplices, who would be arrested soon," the official also added.