Click to play videoAmbala: Criminal dons and gangsters in India wear bulletproof clothes and drive bulletproof cars.
A CNN-IBN Special Investigation has unearthed a racket of unscrupulous businessmen in Punjab illegally making bullet proof cars for mafia dons, often on the recommendations of prominent politicians.
A Special Investigation Team member posed as a gangster to expose these men.
Sandeep Sobti of Laggar Industries is one such man who sells bulletproof metal to dubious clients. He boasts that politicians regularly buy bulletproof cars for their cronies from him.
Posing as a gangster, with armed guards, CNN-IBN's SIT member visited Sobti's office in Jalandar, looking for bullet proof cars.
Who the customer is is not a matter of concern for Sobti. He agrees to sell the metal to everyone who can pay the right price. He even ventures some information.
Sandeep Sobti: "Rohtak ke sharaab ka hi kaam karte hain. Unke paas hai gaari chal rahi hai. Unhone gaari nikalvayee hai Sahib Singh Verma ke naam se. Kaun rokega unko, kaun poochhega?" (A liquor trafficker from Rohtak is using a bulletproof car. The car is in Sahib Singh Varma's name so who can stop and question him?)
"Ab chahe Musharraf se use karaiye ya Laden se use karaiye, mujhe koi pharak nahin padta. Main safe hoon," he continues. (I don't care whether you get Musharraf to use the cars or Osama to use them as long as I am safe.)
Sobti also has a Delhi office run by his son, Sanchit Sobti. On offer here are bulletproof jackets, which the CNNN-IBN SIT member tries on. Meanwhile, Sanchit works out the cost of the jackets and cars and other requirements."
Sanchit Sobti: "Bullet proof tyres Rs 4.9 lakh ke hain, SLR protected VIP interior, best paint, matlab bahar khade pata nahin chalega ki aapki gaadi bulletproof hai." (Bulletproof tyres will cost Rs 4.9 lakh, SLR protected VIP interior, the best paint etc. If your car is seen, people won't know it's bulletproof.)
Convinced about the SIT member's gangster status, the Sobtis offer him a guided tour of Laggar Industries - a 20 acre facility in Jalandhar. There is even a shooting range inside the factory, where during a demonstration, CNN-IBN's SIT seal a deal with the Sobtis for three bulletproof cars and eight bulletproof jackets.
To reconfirm the deal, a meeting is fixed with the Sobtis in Ambala. When asked about the clearance needed for the sale from district and local police authorities, the SIT was told that paperwork and clearances were not a problem if the right price could be met.
Sanchit Sobti: "Saara kaam ho jaayega. Lekin bas paise zyaada lagenge." (Permissions can be organised, but they may cost some more.)
CNN-IBN: "Kitna bol rahaa hai?" (How much more?)
Sanchit Sobti: "Voh keh raha hai lakh rupye per gaari." Rs 1 lakh more per car.)
CNN-IBN: "Account number bataao aap apna." (I need your bank account number.)
Sanchit Sobti gives his IDBI account number 0731040089593 and the deal is struck.
The Sobtis have readily agreed to do business with a man who they thought was a gangster. One can only wonder how many police personnel will die and how many criminals will evade the law with the help of the bullet proof cars and jackets provided to them by Laggar Industries.
(With inputs from Sudesh Bhatt)
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