News Analysis India

Tag: Punjab Police

  • Gangster, two associates killed in police ‘encounter’ in Punjab

    Express News Service

    CHANDIGARH: Three gangsters were killed in an ‘encounter’ with the Anti-Gangster Task Force (AGTF) of Punjab Police on Wednesday.

    The alleged encounter took place at New Fatehgarh Sahib Market in Bassi Pathana of Fatehgarh Sahib.

    A gangster Tejinder Singh alias Teja and two of his associates were killed in the alleged encounter. Teja is reported to be a mastermind in the Phillaur shoot-out case in which a police constable Kuldeep Singh Bajwa was killed.

    Director General of Police, Gaurav Yadav said that a team led by Additional DGP Promod Ban on Wednesday evening managed to trace the location of Teja. The police team was chasing his vehicle in which Teja and his associates were travelling, when in an attempt to escape Teja and his men opened fire at the police team. The police team fired in return. During the exchange of fire, Teja and one of his associates were killed on the spot. Another associate of the gangster suffered injuries. He was admitted to a hospital where he succumbed. 

    The police team recovered six pistols from the vehicle.

    “During this course of action, a police officer sustained bullet injury, while another suffered fracture on his leg,” Gaurav Yadav said.

    CHANDIGARH: Three gangsters were killed in an ‘encounter’ with the Anti-Gangster Task Force (AGTF) of Punjab Police on Wednesday.

    The alleged encounter took place at New Fatehgarh Sahib Market in Bassi Pathana of Fatehgarh Sahib.

    A gangster Tejinder Singh alias Teja and two of his associates were killed in the alleged encounter. Teja is reported to be a mastermind in the Phillaur shoot-out case in which a police constable Kuldeep Singh Bajwa was killed.

    Director General of Police, Gaurav Yadav said that a team led by Additional DGP Promod Ban on Wednesday evening managed to trace the location of Teja. The police team was chasing his vehicle in which Teja and his associates were travelling, when in an attempt to escape Teja and his men opened fire at the police team. The police team fired in return. During the exchange of fire, Teja and one of his associates were killed on the spot. Another associate of the gangster suffered injuries. He was admitted to a hospital where he succumbed. 

    The police team recovered six pistols from the vehicle.

    “During this course of action, a police officer sustained bullet injury, while another suffered fracture on his leg,” Gaurav Yadav said.

  • Sidhu Moosewala murder case; Gangster Deepak Tinu’s ‘girlfriend’ held from Mumbai

    By PTI

    CHANDIGARH: Days after gangster Deepak Tinu escaped from police custody in Punjab’s Mansa, his alleged girlfriend was nabbed by a team of Punjab police from Mumbai airport.

    Punjab Director General of Police Gaurav Yadav on Sunday said a team of the Anti-Gangster Task Force (AGTF) nabbed Tinu’s woman accomplice who was trying to head to the Maldives.

    She was with Tinu when he escaped from police custody. The DGP further said efforts were on to nab Tinu.

    “Major breakthrough in Deepak Tinu custody escape, #AGTF @PunjabPoliceInd arrested woman accomplice of Tinu from #MumbaiAirport in an intelligence-based ops. She was with criminal when he escaped & was on way to #Maldives when nabbed. Further #investigations to nab Tinu underway,” Yadav tweeted Sunday evening.

    Tinu, one of the accused in singer Sidhu Moosewala’s murder, escaped from the custody of the Crime Investigation Agency (CIA) unit of the Mansa police last week.

    Pritpal Singh, who was the CIA Incharge Mansa, had allegedly taken Tinu in his vehicle to his official residence to facilitate a meeting with the gangster’s alleged girlfriend.

    Later, the gangster along with his girlfriend escaped.

    The Punjab Police has dismissed from service and apprehended Pritpal Singh and an FIR was registered against him for dereliction in duty.

    Police had also constituted a four-member Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the matter.

    Inspector General of Police (IGP) of Patiala Range M S Chhina will lead the SIT and its members are Assistant IG Anti-Gangster Task Force (AGTF) Opinderjit Singh, SSP Mansa Gaurav Toora and DSP of AGTF Bikramjeet Singh Brar.

    CHANDIGARH: Days after gangster Deepak Tinu escaped from police custody in Punjab’s Mansa, his alleged girlfriend was nabbed by a team of Punjab police from Mumbai airport.

    Punjab Director General of Police Gaurav Yadav on Sunday said a team of the Anti-Gangster Task Force (AGTF) nabbed Tinu’s woman accomplice who was trying to head to the Maldives.

    She was with Tinu when he escaped from police custody. The DGP further said efforts were on to nab Tinu.

    “Major breakthrough in Deepak Tinu custody escape, #AGTF @PunjabPoliceInd arrested woman accomplice of Tinu from #MumbaiAirport in an intelligence-based ops. She was with criminal when he escaped & was on way to #Maldives when nabbed. Further #investigations to nab Tinu underway,” Yadav tweeted Sunday evening.

    Tinu, one of the accused in singer Sidhu Moosewala’s murder, escaped from the custody of the Crime Investigation Agency (CIA) unit of the Mansa police last week.

    Pritpal Singh, who was the CIA Incharge Mansa, had allegedly taken Tinu in his vehicle to his official residence to facilitate a meeting with the gangster’s alleged girlfriend.

    Later, the gangster along with his girlfriend escaped.

    The Punjab Police has dismissed from service and apprehended Pritpal Singh and an FIR was registered against him for dereliction in duty.

    Police had also constituted a four-member Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the matter.

    Inspector General of Police (IGP) of Patiala Range M S Chhina will lead the SIT and its members are Assistant IG Anti-Gangster Task Force (AGTF) Opinderjit Singh, SSP Mansa Gaurav Toora and DSP of AGTF Bikramjeet Singh Brar.

  • Punjab police bust two ISI-backed terror modules operating from Canada

    By PTI

    CHANDIGARH: Punjab police on Tuesday claimed to have busted two terror modules, operated by foreign-based gangsters and terrorists and backed by Pakistan’s ISI, as it arrested two operatives and recovered arms and ammunition, including a tiffin bomb and three hand grenades.

    In the first case, the arrested accused has been identified as Yograj Singh alias Yog, a resident of Rajoke village in Tarn Taran district.

    The narco-terrorism module was being jointly operated by Canada-based Lakhbir Singh alias Landa, Pakistan-based Harvinder Singh Rinda and Italy-based Harpreet Singh alias Happy, police said.

    The police have recovered “an RDX loaded tiffin box fabricated into an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) or tiffin bomb, two sophisticated AK-56 assault rifles along with two magazines and 30 live cartridges, 30 bore pistol along with six live cartridges and 2 kg heroin from the accused”, Director General of Police, Gaurav Yadav said.

    The group was backed by Pakistan spy agency Inter-Services Intelligence, the police said. Punjab Police, in a separate case, arrested one more operative of the ISI-backed Khalistan Tiger Force (KTF) terror module Harpreet Singh alias Hira.

    Three hand-grenades and weapons have been recovered from his car, DGP said, adding this particular terror module is being operated by Canada-based gangster Arshdeep Singh alias Arsh Dala, who is a close associate of KTF’s Canada-based chief Hardeep Singh Nijjar.

    The arrested accused Harpreet Singh alias Hira is a resident of Jujhar Nagar in Bathinda. The police have also recovered two pistols including 30 bore and 9mm Bareta along with 60 live cartridges, he said.

    The successes came amid an intensified vigil by the Punjab Police against anti-social elements ahead of the festival season, said Director General of Police (DGP) Punjab Gaurav Yadav here.

    The police have also identified five more accomplices of Yograj Singh who were allegedly carrying out illegal activities across Punjab and adjoining states.

    A manhunt has been launched to nab them, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Amritsar Rural Swapan Sharma said, adding that the unearthing of the “Landa-Rinda terror module” was a major success for the state police.

    DGP Yadav said that Yograj is the main operative of this module and is wanted by the state police and central enforcement agencies in at least five criminal cases, including the one where five AK-47 assault rifles were seized in Tarn Taran in September 2019.

    He said preliminary investigations have revealed that the cross-border operations of arms-explosives-drugs smuggling were mainly handled by Yograj on the directions of Landa, Rinda and Happy and jailed smuggler Gurpavitar alias Sai of Lakhna of Tarn Taran.

    Yograj had been active in recovery and further delivery of consignments of arms and drugs at a large scale, he added.

    SSP Sharma said that further investigations are on and more recoveries of arms and explosives are expected soon. The second module is operated by Canada-based gangster Arshdeep Singh alias Arsh Dala, DGP Yadav said.

    Following a reliable input from Counter Intelligence Punjab, Moga Police laid a ‘naka’ at Kotkapura-Baghapurana road and rounded up the accused Harpreet, who was travelling to Amritsar in his white-colour car on Tuesday.

    He said that during preliminary investigations, Harpreet confessed that he was going to deliver the hand grenades and arms consignment on the directions of close-associate of Arsh Dala identified as Amandeep Singh alias Babbu, who is currently lodged in Hoshiarpur Jail.

    Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Moga Gulneet Singh Khurana said that accused Harpreet “revealed that the consignment was brought by Veeja Singh and Ranjodh Singh from the border area on the directions of Arsh Dala’s Manila-based associates identified as Manpreet Singh alias Pita and Amritpal Singh alias Ammy, who is also associated with terrorists in Pakistan”.

    The accused also revealed that Manpreet Pita and Ammy have handed over the consignment to two unknown persons in Moga, who further assigned him to deliver it at an undisclosed location in Amritsar, the SSP claimed.

    The development came two days after the arrest of two operatives identified as Veeja Singh alias Gagan alias Gaggu and Ranjodh Singh alias Jyoti of this module from the Chamkaur Sahib area.

    Earlier, the Ferozepur Police had recovered one sophisticated AK-47 assault rifle along with two magazines and 60 live cartridges from the paddy fields of village Arifke in Ferozepur that were intended for retrieval by Veeja Singh and Ranjodh Singh.

    CHANDIGARH: Punjab police on Tuesday claimed to have busted two terror modules, operated by foreign-based gangsters and terrorists and backed by Pakistan’s ISI, as it arrested two operatives and recovered arms and ammunition, including a tiffin bomb and three hand grenades.

    In the first case, the arrested accused has been identified as Yograj Singh alias Yog, a resident of Rajoke village in Tarn Taran district.

    The narco-terrorism module was being jointly operated by Canada-based Lakhbir Singh alias Landa, Pakistan-based Harvinder Singh Rinda and Italy-based Harpreet Singh alias Happy, police said.

    The police have recovered “an RDX loaded tiffin box fabricated into an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) or tiffin bomb, two sophisticated AK-56 assault rifles along with two magazines and 30 live cartridges, 30 bore pistol along with six live cartridges and 2 kg heroin from the accused”, Director General of Police, Gaurav Yadav said.

    The group was backed by Pakistan spy agency Inter-Services Intelligence, the police said. Punjab Police, in a separate case, arrested one more operative of the ISI-backed Khalistan Tiger Force (KTF) terror module Harpreet Singh alias Hira.

    Three hand-grenades and weapons have been recovered from his car, DGP said, adding this particular terror module is being operated by Canada-based gangster Arshdeep Singh alias Arsh Dala, who is a close associate of KTF’s Canada-based chief Hardeep Singh Nijjar.

    The arrested accused Harpreet Singh alias Hira is a resident of Jujhar Nagar in Bathinda. The police have also recovered two pistols including 30 bore and 9mm Bareta along with 60 live cartridges, he said.

    The successes came amid an intensified vigil by the Punjab Police against anti-social elements ahead of the festival season, said Director General of Police (DGP) Punjab Gaurav Yadav here.

    The police have also identified five more accomplices of Yograj Singh who were allegedly carrying out illegal activities across Punjab and adjoining states.

    A manhunt has been launched to nab them, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Amritsar Rural Swapan Sharma said, adding that the unearthing of the “Landa-Rinda terror module” was a major success for the state police.

    DGP Yadav said that Yograj is the main operative of this module and is wanted by the state police and central enforcement agencies in at least five criminal cases, including the one where five AK-47 assault rifles were seized in Tarn Taran in September 2019.

    He said preliminary investigations have revealed that the cross-border operations of arms-explosives-drugs smuggling were mainly handled by Yograj on the directions of Landa, Rinda and Happy and jailed smuggler Gurpavitar alias Sai of Lakhna of Tarn Taran.

    Yograj had been active in recovery and further delivery of consignments of arms and drugs at a large scale, he added.

    SSP Sharma said that further investigations are on and more recoveries of arms and explosives are expected soon. The second module is operated by Canada-based gangster Arshdeep Singh alias Arsh Dala, DGP Yadav said.

    Following a reliable input from Counter Intelligence Punjab, Moga Police laid a ‘naka’ at Kotkapura-Baghapurana road and rounded up the accused Harpreet, who was travelling to Amritsar in his white-colour car on Tuesday.

    He said that during preliminary investigations, Harpreet confessed that he was going to deliver the hand grenades and arms consignment on the directions of close-associate of Arsh Dala identified as Amandeep Singh alias Babbu, who is currently lodged in Hoshiarpur Jail.

    Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Moga Gulneet Singh Khurana said that accused Harpreet “revealed that the consignment was brought by Veeja Singh and Ranjodh Singh from the border area on the directions of Arsh Dala’s Manila-based associates identified as Manpreet Singh alias Pita and Amritpal Singh alias Ammy, who is also associated with terrorists in Pakistan”.

    The accused also revealed that Manpreet Pita and Ammy have handed over the consignment to two unknown persons in Moga, who further assigned him to deliver it at an undisclosed location in Amritsar, the SSP claimed.

    The development came two days after the arrest of two operatives identified as Veeja Singh alias Gagan alias Gaggu and Ranjodh Singh alias Jyoti of this module from the Chamkaur Sahib area.

    Earlier, the Ferozepur Police had recovered one sophisticated AK-47 assault rifle along with two magazines and 60 live cartridges from the paddy fields of village Arifke in Ferozepur that were intended for retrieval by Veeja Singh and Ranjodh Singh.

  • Punjab Police registers FIR over AAP charge of BJP ‘offering money’ to its MLAs

    By PTI

    CHANDIGARH: The Punjab Police on Wednesday registered a case after the ruling AAP complained to the state DGP, accusing the BJP of an attempt to poach its MLAs.

    State Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema along with party MLAs had met DGP Gaurav Yadav over the issue and demanded a thorough probe.

    The ruling party had earlier said at least its 10 MLAs were approached by BJP people with an offer of Rs 25 crore each in a bid to topple the state government.

    An official spokesperson of the state police said, “Following a complaint filed by some MLAs of the state, the Punjab Police registered a first information report under Section 8 of the Prevention of Corruption Act and Sections 171-B and 120-B of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).”

    The spokesperson added, “Police registered an FIR on prima facie basis and the investigation has been transferred to the Vigilance Bureau as per standard guidelines.”

    Earlier in the day, the Opposition Congress had dared the ruling party to get the issue probed by an independent agency under the supervision of the High Court.

    A senior BJP leader also sought a CBI investigation into the accusations, describing the claims as a “most ridiculous joke”.

    Cheema was accompanied by party MLAs Budh Ram, Kulwant Pandori, Manjit Singh Bilaspur, Dinesh Chadha, Raman Arora, Narinder Kaur Bharaj, Rajneesh Dahiya, Rupinder Singh Happy, Sheetal Angural and Labh Singh Ugoke to the DGP’s office on Wednesday.

    Addressing the media here, Cheema said to “expose the unholy tactics” of the BJP, he and AAP MLAs gave a formal complaint along with “all proofs” to DGP Yadav for a fair probe into the matter.

    A complaint against BJP leaders and agents has also been filed for allegedly issuing death threats to Jalandhar West MLA Sheetal Angural, he said.

    “He was told that if the evidence was presented, then he would be killed. We have proof of this also,” Cheema claimed.

    He said BJP agents and workers from Delhi and Punjab had allegedly tried to break away 35 MLAs from AAP to topple the government in Punjab.

    Cheema accused the BJP of murdering democracy by toppling elected governments in various states after using central agencies like the CBI and the ED and also by offering money.

    But the “Operation Lotus” has completely failed in Punjab, said Cheema. The finance minister claimed the BJP is threatened by the rising graph of AAP in other states.

    The BJP will never succeed in its “wicked plans” in Punjab even if they offer Rs 2,200 crore because the loyal soldiers of AAP under the leadership of Arvind Kejriwal and CM Bhagwant Mann are standing like a rock, he said.

    Meanwhile, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann said the BJP’s “Operation Lotus” had earlier failed in Delhi where it could not buy AAP legislators.

    “Now, they have tried to approach six-seven MLAs in Punjab,” said Mann in a video message.

    “The MLAs were offered money,” he alleged.

    BJP national general secretary Tarun Chugh demanded a CBI investigation into the accusations while describing the ruling party’s claims as the “most ridiculous joke”.

    Chugh said, “It is the most ridiculous joke that AAP is playing on Punjabis for the simple reason that they want to deflect the people’s attention from gross corruption the AAP government has done in liquor policy in Punjab.

    ” Chugh said by going to the DGP with a complaint on the basis of “fake calls”, the AAP government is getting into cheap and deceptive politics, which in the long run would prove to be a disaster for Punjab.

    He said a similar tactic was adopted by AAP in Delhi, which ultimately “proved to be a hoax”.

    “AAP is playing politics of ridicule and mimicry to divert people’s attention from the core issues that are putting a grave threat to Punjab,” he said.

    The Punjab Congress demanded that the AAP government get the issue probed by an independent investigating agency under the supervision of the High Court.

    It also asked AAP to produce evidence against the BJP on the allegations of horse-trading in the state.

    “There is strong probability of AAP imploding in Punjab with MLAs feeling suffocated, disillusioned and alienated as the power is being wielded and enjoyed by outsiders,” state Congress chief Amrinder Singh Raja Warring said.

    Hence, the party is trying to make an excuse as it did in Delhi by levelling similar allegations and nothing came out of those allegations there, he stated.

    CHANDIGARH: The Punjab Police on Wednesday registered a case after the ruling AAP complained to the state DGP, accusing the BJP of an attempt to poach its MLAs.

    State Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema along with party MLAs had met DGP Gaurav Yadav over the issue and demanded a thorough probe.

    The ruling party had earlier said at least its 10 MLAs were approached by BJP people with an offer of Rs 25 crore each in a bid to topple the state government.

    An official spokesperson of the state police said, “Following a complaint filed by some MLAs of the state, the Punjab Police registered a first information report under Section 8 of the Prevention of Corruption Act and Sections 171-B and 120-B of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).”

    The spokesperson added, “Police registered an FIR on prima facie basis and the investigation has been transferred to the Vigilance Bureau as per standard guidelines.”

    Earlier in the day, the Opposition Congress had dared the ruling party to get the issue probed by an independent agency under the supervision of the High Court.

    A senior BJP leader also sought a CBI investigation into the accusations, describing the claims as a “most ridiculous joke”.

    Cheema was accompanied by party MLAs Budh Ram, Kulwant Pandori, Manjit Singh Bilaspur, Dinesh Chadha, Raman Arora, Narinder Kaur Bharaj, Rajneesh Dahiya, Rupinder Singh Happy, Sheetal Angural and Labh Singh Ugoke to the DGP’s office on Wednesday.

    Addressing the media here, Cheema said to “expose the unholy tactics” of the BJP, he and AAP MLAs gave a formal complaint along with “all proofs” to DGP Yadav for a fair probe into the matter.

    A complaint against BJP leaders and agents has also been filed for allegedly issuing death threats to Jalandhar West MLA Sheetal Angural, he said.

    “He was told that if the evidence was presented, then he would be killed. We have proof of this also,” Cheema claimed.

    He said BJP agents and workers from Delhi and Punjab had allegedly tried to break away 35 MLAs from AAP to topple the government in Punjab.

    Cheema accused the BJP of murdering democracy by toppling elected governments in various states after using central agencies like the CBI and the ED and also by offering money.

    But the “Operation Lotus” has completely failed in Punjab, said Cheema. The finance minister claimed the BJP is threatened by the rising graph of AAP in other states.

    The BJP will never succeed in its “wicked plans” in Punjab even if they offer Rs 2,200 crore because the loyal soldiers of AAP under the leadership of Arvind Kejriwal and CM Bhagwant Mann are standing like a rock, he said.

    Meanwhile, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann said the BJP’s “Operation Lotus” had earlier failed in Delhi where it could not buy AAP legislators.

    “Now, they have tried to approach six-seven MLAs in Punjab,” said Mann in a video message.

    “The MLAs were offered money,” he alleged.

    BJP national general secretary Tarun Chugh demanded a CBI investigation into the accusations while describing the ruling party’s claims as the “most ridiculous joke”.

    Chugh said, “It is the most ridiculous joke that AAP is playing on Punjabis for the simple reason that they want to deflect the people’s attention from gross corruption the AAP government has done in liquor policy in Punjab.

    ” Chugh said by going to the DGP with a complaint on the basis of “fake calls”, the AAP government is getting into cheap and deceptive politics, which in the long run would prove to be a disaster for Punjab.

    He said a similar tactic was adopted by AAP in Delhi, which ultimately “proved to be a hoax”.

    “AAP is playing politics of ridicule and mimicry to divert people’s attention from the core issues that are putting a grave threat to Punjab,” he said.

    The Punjab Congress demanded that the AAP government get the issue probed by an independent investigating agency under the supervision of the High Court.

    It also asked AAP to produce evidence against the BJP on the allegations of horse-trading in the state.

    “There is strong probability of AAP imploding in Punjab with MLAs feeling suffocated, disillusioned and alienated as the power is being wielded and enjoyed by outsiders,” state Congress chief Amrinder Singh Raja Warring said.

    Hence, the party is trying to make an excuse as it did in Delhi by levelling similar allegations and nothing came out of those allegations there, he stated.

  • Shaurya Chakra awardee Balwinder Singh Sandhu’s killer and two aides arrested 

    By Express News Service

    CHANDIGARH: The Punjab police on Tuesday arrested a key accused in the Shaurya Chakra awardee Balwinder Singh Sandhu murder case.

    Gurwinder Singh alias Baba alias Raja, a proclaimed offender (PO) of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) was arrested at Tarn Taran along with his two aides Sandeep Singh alias Kala of Amritsar and Gurpreet Singh alias Randhawa.

    The police recovered one hand-grenade, one RDX-IED, two .30 bore pistols along with magazines and 13 live cartridges, 635 grams heroin, 100 grams opium, Rs 36.90 lakhs drug money, and one Mitsubishi Lancer car from their possession.

    Director General of Police (DGP) Punjab Gaurav Yadav said that Gurwinder Singh had played a key role in the murder by providing weapons to the hitman. A probe revealed that he is a close associate of notorious gangsters Sukhpreet Singh alias Harry Chatha and Sukhmeetpal Singh alias Sukh Bikhariwal a prime suspect in the case.

    Inspector General of Police (IGP) Ferozepur Range Jaskaran Singh said that following reliable inputs that Gurwinder Baba along with his aide Sandeep on the way to Khadoor Sahib, the Tarn Taran police intercepted the white Lancer car in which both were travelling and managed to arrest them. Two pistols with loaded magazines, 635 grams of heroin, 100-gram opium and Rs 3.90 lakh drug money were recovered from the car, he added.

    He said that, later, following the disclosures of Gurwinder Baba, police recovered one hand grenade, one RDX-IED and Rs 33 lakhs drug money from the location pinpointed in the area of Police District Batala. Preliminary investigations suggest that the recovered explosives, arms, and drugs were smuggled via drones from Pakistan, he claimed.

    SSP Tarn Taran Ranjit Singh Dhillon said that a case has been registered under sections 18, 21, 25, and 29 of the NDPS Act, sections 25(6) and 25(7) of the Arms Act, sections 4 and 5 of the Explosive Substance Act and sections 10, 11 and 12 of the Aircraft Act at Police Station Verowal. He said that these arrests are likely to lead to further disclosures of cross-border smuggling modules. Further investigations are on, he added.

    The NIA had last year filed a supplementary charge sheet against three Khalistan Liberation Force (KLF) terrorists in this connection.

    CHANDIGARH: The Punjab police on Tuesday arrested a key accused in the Shaurya Chakra awardee Balwinder Singh Sandhu murder case.

    Gurwinder Singh alias Baba alias Raja, a proclaimed offender (PO) of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) was arrested at Tarn Taran along with his two aides Sandeep Singh alias Kala of Amritsar and Gurpreet Singh alias Randhawa.

    The police recovered one hand-grenade, one RDX-IED, two .30 bore pistols along with magazines and 13 live cartridges, 635 grams heroin, 100 grams opium, Rs 36.90 lakhs drug money, and one Mitsubishi Lancer car from their possession.

    Director General of Police (DGP) Punjab Gaurav Yadav said that Gurwinder Singh had played a key role in the murder by providing weapons to the hitman. A probe revealed that he is a close associate of notorious gangsters Sukhpreet Singh alias Harry Chatha and Sukhmeetpal Singh alias Sukh Bikhariwal a prime suspect in the case.

    Inspector General of Police (IGP) Ferozepur Range Jaskaran Singh said that following reliable inputs that Gurwinder Baba along with his aide Sandeep on the way to Khadoor Sahib, the Tarn Taran police intercepted the white Lancer car in which both were travelling and managed to arrest them. Two pistols with loaded magazines, 635 grams of heroin, 100-gram opium and Rs 3.90 lakh drug money were recovered from the car, he added.

    He said that, later, following the disclosures of Gurwinder Baba, police recovered one hand grenade, one RDX-IED and Rs 33 lakhs drug money from the location pinpointed in the area of Police District Batala. Preliminary investigations suggest that the recovered explosives, arms, and drugs were smuggled via drones from Pakistan, he claimed.

    SSP Tarn Taran Ranjit Singh Dhillon said that a case has been registered under sections 18, 21, 25, and 29 of the NDPS Act, sections 25(6) and 25(7) of the Arms Act, sections 4 and 5 of the Explosive Substance Act and sections 10, 11 and 12 of the Aircraft Act at Police Station Verowal. He said that these arrests are likely to lead to further disclosures of cross-border smuggling modules. Further investigations are on, he added.

    The NIA had last year filed a supplementary charge sheet against three Khalistan Liberation Force (KLF) terrorists in this connection.

  • Encounter underway between Punjab Police, two suspected Moose Wala killers

    By PTI

    CHANDIGARH: An exchange of fire was underway in Amritsar on Wednesday between the Punjab Police and two gangsters, believed to be involved in the killing of singer Sidhu Moose Wala, official sources said.

    The operation of the Anti-Gangster Task Force of the Punjab Police is going on at Bhakna village, they said.

    According to official sources, gangsters Jagroop Singh Roopa and Manpreet Singh alias Mannu Kusa, the two shooters who were allegedly involved in the killing of Moosewala, were at large.

    The area has been cordoned off, they added.

    Shubhdeep Singh Sidhu, also known as Sidhu Moosewala, was shot dead in Punjab’s Mansa district on May 29.

    CHANDIGARH: An exchange of fire was underway in Amritsar on Wednesday between the Punjab Police and two gangsters, believed to be involved in the killing of singer Sidhu Moose Wala, official sources said.

    The operation of the Anti-Gangster Task Force of the Punjab Police is going on at Bhakna village, they said.

    According to official sources, gangsters Jagroop Singh Roopa and Manpreet Singh alias Mannu Kusa, the two shooters who were allegedly involved in the killing of Moosewala, were at large.

    The area has been cordoned off, they added.

    Shubhdeep Singh Sidhu, also known as Sidhu Moosewala, was shot dead in Punjab’s Mansa district on May 29.

  • Final SIT report on 2015 Punjab sacrilege cases puts blames on Dera Sacha Sauda

    By PTI

    CHANDIGARH: The final investigation report of the Punjab Police on the 2015 desecration cases has pinned blame on Sirsa-based Dera Sacha Sauda.

    Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Saturday handed over the 467-page report of the special investigation team of the Punjab Police to Sikh leaders, including Chamkaur Singh and Major Singh Pandori here, said officials.

    The SIT led by Inspector General of Police SPS Parmar investigated the incidents and submit the report to the state DGP on April 21.

    The incidents related to the theft of a ‘bir’ (copy) of the Guru Ganth Sahib, putting up handwritten sacrilegious posters and torn pages of the holy book found scattered at Bargari had taken place in Faridkot in 2015.

    These incidents had led to protests in Faridkot.

    In the police firing at protesters in October 2015, two persons were killed in Behbal Kalan while some people were injured at Kotkapura in Faridkot.

    According to the report, Dera chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim has been named in three desecration incidents.

    As per the report, the motive behind the three cases “is having a direct link with the Dera Sacha Sauda and the accused persons who are involved in these cases are followers of the said dera.”

    “It is evident from material/evidence collected by the SIT of the Punjab Police that the accused were having direct nexus with the management of the dera. The motive behind the incidents was also having a link with the movie ‘MSG-2’,” it said.

    Followers of the Dera Sacha Sauda were upset over the non-release of Ram Rahim starrer Messenger of God (MSG-2) movie.

    The other accused in these three cases are Sukhjinder Singh, alias Sunny, Shakti Singh, Baljit Singh, Randeep Singh, alias Neela, Ranjit Singh, alias Bhola, Nishan Singh, Narinder Sharma and Pardeep Singh.

    The three other accused–Harsh Dhuri, Pardeep Kler and Sandeep Bareta–are yet to be arrested.

    They have been declared proclaimed offenders.

    Dera Sacha Sauda follower Mohinder Pal Bittu, who was a key accused in the cases, was killed in a Nabha prison by two inmates in 2019.

    The SIT had even questioned Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh in the Sunaria jail of Haryana’s Rohtak in connection with the incidents.

    However, the report said Ram Rahim remained “non-cooperative” during the course of investigation by the SIT.

    The three cases of sacrilege are under trial at a Faridkot court and the next date for the framing of charges against the accused is July 29.

    Last year, the CBI on the directions of the Punjab and Haryana High Court had handed over the documents and files related to the 2015 incidents to the Punjab Police SIT.

    In 2015, the then SAD-BJP government had handed over the three cases to the CBI for probe.

    The Punjab government had handed over the probe to an SIT of the state police in September 2018 after the state Assembly passed a resolution withdrawing consent to the CBI to investigate these cases, noting lack of progress in the investigation.

  • Punjab Police arrest 11 history-sheeters backed by gangsters Lawrence Bishnoi, Harvinder Rinda

    By PTI

    CHANDIGARH: Eleven people involved in heinous crimes and backed by gangsters Lawrence Bishnoi and Harvinder Rinda have been arrested, a senior police officer said here on Thursday.

    These history-sheeters were active in several neighbouring states of Punjab and had been involved in crimes such as murder, attempt to murder, armed dacoity, organised extortion, robbery and drug smuggling, Additional Director General of Police, Anti-Gangster Task Force, Pramod Ban said here on Thursday.

    “With their arrests, the Punjab Police has thwarted attempts of at least seven murders, two police custody escapes and four armed robberies,” he added.

    Nine weapons and five looted vehicles were recovered from their possession, Ban said.

    Ban also said the arrested people had been conducting recces for the past few months and were nabbed before they could strike.

    When asked if any prominent personality was on their target, the ADGP Ban said, “I cannot indicate anything like that. But what I can tell you is their aim was to create unrest.”

    As per preliminary investigations, the ADGP said, the gang was being operated by Vikram Brar, an associate of Canada-based gangster Goldy Brar, on the directions of Harvinder Singh alias Rinda.

    Brar, a resident of Hanumangarh in Rajasthan, is currently residing abroad is wanted by the police of six states.

    He was a classmate of Lawrence Bishnoi and is active on social media, Ban said.

    That arrested hail from Punjab and Himachal Pradesh.

    They are Mohammad Yaseen Akhtar alias Jaisy Purewal, Navi, Amandeep alias Shooter, Shiv Kumar alias Shiva, Ankush Sabharwal alias Paya and Vishal alias Fauji from Jalandhar; Sagar Singh from Mohali; Annu alias Pehalwan of Kapurthala; Amar Malik from Ludhiana; and Sumit Jaswal alias Kaku and Arun Kumar alias Mani Rana from Una in Himachal Pradesh, the ADGP said.

    Giving out details about the arrested people, Senior Superintendent of Police, Jalandhar (Rural) Swapan Sharma said Akhtar alias Jaisy has been involved in at least 16 criminal activities.

    Similarly, Ankush Sabarwal alias Paya has six criminal cases registered against him.

    He was a student of Vikram Brar at an IELTS centre in Nakodar in 2014 and had been providing shelter and safe houses to Saurav Mahakal of Maharashtra, who was arrested by the police in Pune, recently.

    Along with Mahakal, he committed three crimes in Punjab, the SSP said.

    Sharma said Arun Kumar alias Mani Rana is a gangster operating at the behest of the Lawrence-Jaggu Bhagwanpuria group and they had planned Mani’s escape from police custody during a court hearing in Himachal Pradesh’s Una.

    He said Sumit Jaswal alias Kaku has been arrested as he was actively involved in doing a recce and organising logistics for this escape attempt.

    “With the arrest of this gang, the backbone of organised criminal activities in the Doaba region (of Punjab) in general and Jalandhar, in particular, has been broken,” the SSP added.

    All the arrests were made by the Jalandhar Rural police.

    In the past two months, teams from Jalandhar Rural have arrested 32 people affiliated with various jailed gangsters across the state and recovered 38 weapons from their possession.

    Replying to a question, Ban said the Punjab Police is working in close coordination with the Anti-Terrorism Squads of Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Haryana and Special Cell of the Delhi Police, “and we keep sharing information on a regular basis on various things”.

  • Punjab police arrest 13 members of Pinda gang

    By Express News Service

    CHANDIGARH: After a three-week-long operation, the Punjab police has busted an extortion and arms smuggling racket. A total of 13 gang members including trained shooters have been arrested by the police. The members were affiliated to Palwinder Singh alias Pinda gang a close aide of gangster Vicky Gounder. Moreover, six other persons were arrested on charges of harboring and providing logistic support.

    Senior Superintendent of Police of Jalandhar (Rural) Swapan Sharma said that a close aide of gangster Vicky Gounder, Palwinder Singh alias Pinda, whose role was also emerged in the Nabha Jail break, is said to be the Kingpin of the gang and was apparently handling the gang with the help of Paramjit alias Pamma, a native of Shahkot, Jalandhar and currently residing in Greece.

    All those arrested persons are history-sheeters and have been facing criminal cases of heinous crimes including murder, attempt to murder, extortion, and arms smuggling.

    The police have also recovered nine weapons including Seven .32 bore pistols, Three .315 bore Pistols, one .315 bore gun, and one .12 bore gun, and two vehicles including Toyota Innova and Mahindra XUV 500, besides, foreign currency amounting to Rs 8 lakhs from their possession.

    Sharma said that Paramjit alias Pamma used to finance the gang and used to send foreign currency via Hawala to Amarjit alias Amar, who further used to distribute among the gang members to carry out various criminal activities. 

    He said that the gang is active for the last six years and has been involved in organized extortion, armed highway robbery, land mafia and weapon smuggling from Madhya Pradesh.

    “With the arrest of this group, the police have also been able to crack three blind cases which include murder, extortion, and highway armed robbery occurred in Jalandhar and Bathinda,” said Sharma, while adding that of total 19 arrested persons, at least 12 were wanted by the police in eight criminal cases.

  • Mobile phone recovered from dismissed cop Jagdish Singh Bhola in Patiala central jail

    By PTI

    CHANDIGARH: A mobile phone has been recovered from sacked deputy superintendent of police and former international wrestler Jagdish Singh Bhola who is lodged in the Patiala central jail, a prison official said on Thursday.

    Bhola is lodged in the jail in connection with a multi-crore drug racket.

    The mobile phone was recovered from the possession of Bhola during a search operation carried out on Wednesday night, said the jail official.

    An FIR has been lodged against Bhola on the complaint of the jail official.

    Bhola, an Arjuna awardee, was arrested in November 2013 in connection with a Rs 700 crore drugs racket.

    Meanwhile, Punjab Jails Minister Harjot Singh Bains said the AAP government in the state was on a mission to free jails from mobile phones and drugs.

    “Our Govt. is on a mission to free Jails of Mobiles & Drugs. Hon’ble CM @BhagwantMann ji has made it clear that Sudhar Ghar’s will be made Sudhar Ghar’s in true spirits. Any incidents of Use of Mobile Phones or Corruption in jails, Jail Supdt.’s will be held accountable,” Bains said in a tweet.

    Meanwhile, the prisons department is learnt to have issued an advisory to the superintendents of jails, asking them to carry out frequent special searches in the prisons, especially those where high-risk prisoners like gangsters and smugglers are lodged.

    The jail superintendents have also been told that they would be held responsible in case of any incident of corruption or usage of mobile phones by inmates inside the jails.