SSP Arpit Shukla said eight members of a gang, headed by Sukhdev Singh Suba of Jhungian village, have been arrested and one .315 bore countrymade pistol, along with four live cartridges, were also recovered from their possession.

Two members of the gang are yet to be arrested.

The gang, say the police, was involved in several cases. The allegations include: robbing the dera in Nassupur village of a mobile phone and Rs 80,000 on the intervening night of January 25 and 26 earlier this year; looting Rs 1 lakh and gold ornaments from a resident of Balbera village, snatching a mobile phone and Rs 3,000 from a resident of Nagawan road, Alipur district, Patiala, and robbing Rs 4,500 and two mobile phones from a dera situated in Kangwal village, district Kaithal (Haryana).

The second gang, said the SSP, comprises five members and is headed by Sandeep Khurmi alias Randhawa alias Sunny. Three of the gang members were arrested on Tuesday from the T-point near Daun Kalan village, when they were coming from Rajpura in an Alto Car (CH-03-34-7721).

Besides lethal weapons, the police also recovered one mobile phone from them. Two members of the gang, however, managed to escape.