How a Rs 10 Fruity pack led to arrest of Punjab's Daku Haseena, mastermind behind Rs 8.5 crore heist

In a remarkable turn of events, a seemingly ordinary Rs 10 drink played a pivotal role in bringing a notorious criminal to justice. The mastermind behind an audacious Rs 8.5-crore heist, known as 'Daku Haseena,' had managed to evade the authorities.

However, through a stroke of tactical brilliance, the police set up a free drink stall, setting in motion a chain of events that would ultimately lead to the capture of the culprit.

What happened

A woman who masterminded a Rs 8.5-crore robbery in Ludhiana was arrested on June 19, 2023, after she fell for a clever trick by the police. The woman, Mandeep Kaur, was arrested along with her husband, Jaswinder Singh, at the Hemkund Sahib shrine in Uttarakhand. The couple had gone to the shrine to offer prayers after the robbery.

The police had received information that the couple was planning to flee to Nepal. They set up a sting operation at the shrine, offering free drinks (Fruity) to pilgrims. Kaur and Singh took the drinks, but when they uncovered their faces to drink, they were identified by the police. They were arrested and taken into custody.

The police also arrested another man, Gaurav, who is believed to have helped Kaur and Singh plan the robbery.

After the ₹8.5 crore robbery at CMS Ludhiana, Daaku Haseena and her husband went to Shri Hemkunt Sahib to offer prayers of gratitude for the robbery pic.twitter.com/ZMaclzq9V8

— Gagandeep Singh (@Gagan4344) June 17, 2023

The robbery

The robbery took place on June 10, when a group of armed men stormed a cash van in Ludhiana and stole Rs 8.49 crore. The men were wearing masks and gloves, and they made their getaway in a waiting car.

Investigations into the robbery revealed that Kaur was the mastermind behind the crime.

Kaur is believed to have planned the robbery in order to get rich. She is currently being held in police custody, and she is expected to be charged with robbery and other offences.

The police operation

When the Punjab Police received a tip-off that Mandeep Kaur and her husband Jaswinder Singh were planning to flee to Nepal, a massive manhunt was set in motion. Their journey included stops at several religious sites, including Haridwar, Kedarnath, and Hemkund Sahib.

At Hemkund Sahib, it was difficult to identify them both among a huge crowd of devotees who were visiting the Sikh shrine. So, the police came up with a plan to hold a free drink service for pilgrims.

The accused couple approached the drink stall, but they had their faces covered. However, they had to uncover their faces to sip the drinks. This is when the police identified them, reported India Today.

'Let's catch the queen bee'

Despite their identification, Mandeep Kaur and Jaswinder Singh were not immediately arrested.. Police let them pay obeisance at Hemkund Sahib, and after that the couple was chased by the police for some distance before being arrested.

The operation to catch them was labelled 'Let's catch the queen bee'. According to Ludhiana Commissioner of Police Mandeep Singh Sidhu, Rs 12 lakh was recovered from Mandeep Kaur's two-wheeler, and Rs 9 lakh from her husband Jaswinder Singh's Barnala house.

Mandeep Kaur's troubled past

As the layers of Mandeep Kaur's criminal persona were peeled away, her troubled past came to light. Driven by a desperate pursuit of wealth, she had resorted to taking loans and had worked in various professions, including as an insurance agent and an assistant to a lawyer.

These circumstances set the stage for her transformation into the infamous 'Daku Haseena.' She got married to Jaswinder Singh in February this year.