Tribune News Service

Mohali, September 12

The local police today arrested an employee of the Air Force canteen at Mullanpur for stealing Rs 1.77 lakh from its safe.The suspect, Kuldip Singh (29), a resident of Bharonjia village, broke the glass of the canteen door and then broke open the upper portion of the safe with a rod to steal the amount. The theft took place around 2 am today.The police have recovered the entire amount from Kuldip Singh’s house.Earlier, canteen manager BS Joseph made a complaint in this regard to the police. He alleged that he had kept Rs 3.31 lakh in the safe on Saturday. The crime came to light when Jospeh came to his workplace this morning.Giving details, Mohali Senior Superintendent of Police Gurpreet Singh Bhullar said the suspect had been working in the canteen for around four years.“After finishing his duty, Kuldip Singh went to his house at Bharonjia village, located near the Air Force Station. Being an insider, he knew that cash was lying in the safe. He came to the canteen around 2 am today and committed the crime,” said the SSP.The suspect came under the police radar when he did not attend duty this morning. He was called up by the manager several times. He told the manager that he had met with an accident and was not in a position to attend duty.“We found blood stains at the spot. When we checked, we found an injury on Kuldip Singh’s hand. Kuldip tried to befool us by saying that he sustained the injury in a motorcycle mishap. Later, during interrogation, he confessed to his crime,” said the SSP, adding that the suspect’s hand got injured while breaking the glass of the door.Kuldip Singh stole Rs 1.77 lakh after breaking the upper part of the safe. “The remaining amount was lying in the lower part of the safe, which he could not break open,” said Bhullar.On Joseph’s complaint, the police have registered a case under Section 3 of the India Official Secrets Act, 1923, and Sections 457, 380 and 427 of the IPC at the Mullanpur police station.The accused will be produced before the court tomorrow.