Ludhiana, Dec. 25 -- Three masked men decamped with Rs.14.5 lakh in cash from a dairy on Tajpur Road in the early hours of Wednesday, executing the crime within minutes despite the shop being located just a few metres from the Tajpur Road police post.

According to police complaint, dairy owner Amanjot Singh received a call from a nearby resident around 5 am, informing him that the shop's shutter appeared damaged. When he rushed to the spot, he found the main shutter forced open and the cash drawer missing from the office. CCTV footage from the dairy shows three masked men arriving in a Skoda car.

Amanjot Singh told the police that the suspects first tried to break open a smaller shutter using force and sharp-edged tools but failed. They...