On Tuesday, Mohali police apprehended Ankur Vaid, an unemployed drug addict, who allegedly stole Rs4.5 lakh in Indian currency and foreign currencies worth Rs8 lakh from a computer shop in Phase-7. The currencies included notes from 10 countries, which Vaid intended to sell to support his addiction. The total stolen amount was estimated at Rs8 lakh.
The accused, a resident of Sector 39-C, Chandigarh, was identified after a theft complaint was lodged by Sukhdev Singh, the owner of the shop. Singh, a resident of Sector 42-B, reported the theft on February 22, 2025. In his complaint, Singh stated that he operated a shop facilitating Western Union and MoneyGram transactions. On February 21, he had opened the shop early in the morning, locked it, and left for Gurudwara in Sohana. Upon returning, he found the back door broken and foreign currencies missing from his office drawer. CCTV footage later showed a young man breaking in and stealing the money.
During interrogation, CIA in-charge Inspector Harminder Singh revealed that Ankur Vaid confessed to the crime. Vaid explained that he had been unemployed for the past year and had turned to drugs. To feed his addiction, he meticulously planned the robbery after scoping out the shop. The police used technical resources and manpower to track down and arrest him.
The police recovered Rs4.5 lakh in Indian Rupees, along with foreign currencies, including 5,000 Australian Dollars, 2,000 Canadian Dollars, 1,700 US Dollars, 3,400 UAE Dirhams, 517 Malaysian Ringgit, 26,700 Thai Baht, 940 Euros, 2,000 Kenyan Shillings, 10 Singapore Dollars, 7 Qatari Riyals, 70 Fijian Dollars, and 2 Omani Rials. Additionally, a motorcycle was seized from the suspect.
