Chandigarh (Naval Kishore): In a major breakthrough, Chandigarh Police has solved multiple air-conditioner theft cases by arresting three accused involved in stealing and dismantling outdoor AC units across the city. The operation was carried out under the directions of W/SSP Chandigarh and under the close supervision of W/SP City Chandigarh, Gurjeet Kaur and Inspector Shadi Lal, SHO of Police Station Sector 34.
A special team of Police Station Sector 34, including ASI Gurpreet Singh, HC Manwinder Singh, Senior Constable Samarjeet, Constable Abhimanu, Constable Gurpreet, and Constable Sukhdeep, successfully arrested the accused within 24 hours of the incident in connection with FIR No. 59 dated May 4, 2026, registered under Sections 303(2), 317(2), 317(5), and 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) at Police Station Sector 34, Chandigarh.
The arrested accused have been identified as Jaspreet Singh, Karan Kumar, and Jitinder Kumar. During the operation, police recovered 32 broken outdoor AC panels, 12 compressors, copper wires, copper pipe pieces, 25 outdoor AC cooling coils, and various tools allegedly used to dismantle stolen air-conditioner units, including cutters, screwdrivers, pliers, spanners, and keys.
Police said the arrests helped solve three separate theft cases registered at Police Station Sector 34 Chandigarh, including FIR No. 56 dated April 28, FIR No. 59 dated May 4, and FIR No. 61 dated May 5, all related to theft of AC outdoor units.
According to police, the case was initially registered on the complaint of Diljit Singh, Secretary of Sector 44 Chandigarh, who reported that unknown persons had stolen outdoor AC units from Booth Nos. 415 and 417 and SCO No. 358/1 in Sector 44-D Market during the early hours of May 2. A total of four AC outdoor units were reported stolen from the market area.
During the investigation, police arrested Jaspreet Singh alias Jassa from the Sector 33 C/D turn on the basis of secret information and recovered a stolen Voltas AC unit, fake temporary number plates, and a toolkit allegedly used in the thefts. Further interrogation led police to a scrap shop in Kurali, Punjab, where accused Karan Kumar was arrested and a large quantity of dismantled AC material was recovered.
Police said Karan Kumar disclosed during questioning that the scrap shop belonged to Jitinder Kumar, who was later arrested from Kurali on May 7. The court granted two-day police remand of Jaspreet Singh and Karan Kumar before they were sent to judicial custody on May 8, while accused Jitinder Kumar was also remanded to police custody for further investigation.
Officials stated that further investigation is underway to determine whether the accused were involved in additional theft cases in Chandigarh and nearby areas.
