Bathinda, June 22 -- Police on Saturday arrested a retired army havildar for allegedly staging a robbery of Rs.15 lakh to cover up heavy losses from online gambling. According to Bathinda deputy superintendent of police (rural) Harjit Singh, Avtar Singh, a resident of Kotli Khurd who retired on April 30, had squandered around Rs.1.50 crore on online gambling since 2021. Fearing questions from his family about the financial mess, Avtar concocted an elaborate robbery drama. "On Friday, Avtar approached the police claiming that three unknown assailants had looted Rs.15 lakh from him at gunpoint near Gehri Bara Singha village. He claimed that after withdrawing the cash from a Bathinda bank and riding home on his motorcycle, a woman and a man flagged him down for a lift. Later, a car intercepted them, and all three, including the hitchhikers, took away his money at gunpoint after administering him with sedatives," the DSP said. "During probe it was revealed that Avtar never visited any bank and had a mere Rs.3.10 in his account. His phone records also placed him nowhere near Bathinda that day. The doctors who examined him also found no trace of any sedatives in his body." A case under Section 217 of the BNS has been registered against him at Kotfatta police station.htc...