1 killed in Hall Gate robbery incident

An exchanger of old currency notes, Kuldeep Bansal, was killed and his son, Dinesh Bansal, seriously injured after they were attacked with a sharp-edged weapon by a man in the crowded Hall Gate area on Monday.

According to police, the motive behind the attack was robbery, as the accused fled with Rs 10.50 lakh from the victim’s shop. The accused, identified as Ravneet Singh from the Chamrang Road area, was an old customer of the victim and has since been arrested.

Police Commissioner Gurpreet Singh Bhullar said the incident occurred around 11.45 am, when the victims had set up their currency exchange stall on the footpath near the Cooperative Bank in the Hall Gate area. Ravneet Singh approached them, requesting to exchange old and worn-out currency notes. As they did not have the required cash on hand, the victims took him to their shop located in the basement of a nearby market.

Upon entering the shop and seeing a large amount of cash, the accused allegedly became greedy. He attacked Kuldeep and Dinesh Bansal with a sharp-edged weapon, snatched approximately Rs 10.50 lakh (comprising 19 bundles of Rs 500 notes and 10 bundles of Rs 100 notes), and fled the scene. Kuldeep succumbed to his injuries while being transported to the hospital, while Dinesh remains under treatment.

Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police, Vishaljit Singh, said Ravneet Singh had recently suffered heavy financial losses in the stock market. In desperate need of money, he planned the robbery and carried out the brutal attack with the intent to kill.

“Based on CCTV footage and technical investigations, the police were able to identify the accused. He was apprehended at Amandeep Hospital on GT Road,” said Singh.

Amritsar