‘Siblings concealed age to escape punishment’

Sandeep Kumar alias Sunny and his elder sister Sunita alias Reeta,after being arrested in connection with the murder of a self-proclaimed godman of Manauli village in Mohali in 2009,had claimed to be minors and with no age proof available,they were lodged in a juvenile home instead of jail,the police claimed.

Following sustained interrogation after they along with their three other accomplices were arrested with a stolen car,arms and ammunition in Zirakpur on Monday evening,the siblings have confessed to be adults and revealed that they both were married,Mohali Superintendent of Police (Detective) Varinder Paul Singh told Newsline. While Sunny was reported to be aged around 19,his sister Reeta was 20 years old.

They allegedly told investigators that Sunny was married to one Aman in 2007 but they separated. Similarly,Reeta was also separated and her three-year-old son was in the custody of her husband.

Sunny has reportedly confessed that he was involved in at least 30 cases of armed robberies and vehicle thefts in different parts of Punjab,Chandigarh and Haryana.

“In several cases,he used to abandon the stolen vehicles in the fear of getting caught,” Singh said.

The accused also reportedly told the cops that he was involved in petty crimes for the last five years now and had escaped from the police net claiming to be a minor.

Investigations further revealed that Tammana (20),who has also been arrested,was the daughter of a painter,and was working as a domestic help with Sunny’s maternal grandmother in Balongi near Mohali.

“After escaping from the juvenile home in Ludhiana on July 10,Sunny came to Balongi and lured Tammana into making a quick buck,” said the official,while revealing that ever since her release on bail in December last,Reeta used to stay with different people and performed with musical groups at local parties.

The police said that Sunny had revealed that he met Daleep Kumar,who was among those arrested,during his stay at the juvenile home and after his escape,ganged up with him as Daleep had already got bail in an attempt to murder case in April.

“Further investigations are on and we hope to solve many cases of armed robberies and vehicle thefts that were the handiwork of these gangsters,” claimed Mohali SSP Gurpreet Singh Bhullar.