JALANDHAR, May 22: Temptation to make quick money to support a lavish lifestyle has ruined the career of three athletes, including a serving cop of Punjab Police and ex-constable of Border Security Force.

Mandeep Singh Shammi, Himmat Singh and Palwinder Singh Pindi, alongwith absconding Vipin Kumar, reportedly looted a non-resident indian (NRI) woman on her way home to Punjab from Indira Gandhi International Airport before the dawn of May 17 last on Karnal's Grand Trunk road bypass.

They never thought they would land in trouble. Yet, when they were caught by the Jalandhar police yesterday, all the accused regretted having committed the criminal act for the first time in their life. All three accused are in their early twenties.

Senior Superintendent of Police Dinkar Gupta today said the police had recovered one .38-bore revolver with four bullets they used in committing the crime and also recovered booty comprising cash of Rs 24,000. One pair of gold earrings, one nose pin and three suitcases full of clothes and cosmetics Jagjit Kaur had brought for her kith and kin from Vancouver.

Mandeep Singh, 22, a Punjab Police constable awaiting promotion as head constable, had twice won silver medal in discuss throw in National Junior Championships. Son of a farmer owning about ten acres of land in Bhullowal village of Hoshiarpur district, Mandeep, 12th-class dropout of local Lyallpur Khalsa College, appeared to be a pampered son of his father, who had partly financed purchase of a 1996-model white Maruti car worth Rs 1.81 lakhs for his son. The same car was used in commissioning the crime, police said.

Pindi, 25, who quit as a BSF constable after the death of his father in 1994 so as to help his family look after 35 acres of land in Kot Kalan village of Jalandhar district, is an acknowledged free style wrestler, having won silver medal in the super heavy weight category in a national meet. As student of local DAV College he excelled in 100 kg free style wrestling in the National Junior Championship held in Ludhiana, police informed.

Himmat Singh, 25, was twice Punjab University gold medalist in javelin throw representing Hoshiarpur's Government College team. Relatively less better-off than his accomplices, Himmat Singh, a product of a private school in Jalandhar Cantonment, hailed from Barring village, located in the city corporation limits, where his family of five, including two brothers besides parents, owned a house besides a small plot. Though he spent four years in the Government College, he never completed his graduation, police said.

The accused told interrogators that they drove in Mandeep's car to the IGI airport on the night of May 16 last and parked themselves outside the airport awaiting a prospective prey. It was around 0400 hrs, while driving back to Punjab cursing their luck when they chanced upon a Mahindra jeep parked on the roadside on Karnal's GT road bypass. Three males, including the driver of the jeep, were trying to re-adjust the heavy baggage in the vehicle when the accused accosted them at pistol point and looted cash and suitcases. The SSP said Canadian dollars were later encashed by the accused for free spending and it was out of this cash Rs 24,000 has been recovered.

Police have registered a case under sections 411 and 379 of IPC and launched search for the absconder.

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.