Broken mobile phone, ammunition & pharma opioids seized from Moosewala killers: Official
Darpan News Desk IANS, 21 Jul, 2022 01:07 PM
Chandigarh, July 21 (IANS) A day after gunning down of two sharpshooters in a nearly five-hour long gunfight, who were allegedly involved in the sensational killing of famed Punjabi singer Sidhu Moosewala, a senior Punjab Police official on Thursday said a broken mobile phone and a bag containing ammunition, clothes and some pharma opioids were seized from the spot.
He said that no document was recovered from the scene to establish their identity. Also there was no proof so far that the sharpshooters were planning to cross over to Pakistan. The shooters were hired by jailed gangster Lawrence Bishnoi, the main conspirator who confessed that the execution planning of Moosewala was hatched in August last year to avenge the murder of Vicky Middukhera.
Sharpshooters Manpreet Manu and Jagdeep Rupa, believed to be members of the Jaggu Bhagwanpuria gang, which had allegedly provided sharpshooters to Bishnoi for the Moosewala killing, were shot dead in an encounter with Punjab Police near the India-Pakistan border in Amritsar district on Wednesday.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (Detective) Mukhwinder Singh Bhullar told the media close to the encounter site that both gangsters were dropped by a vehicle at the crime scene on Wednesday.
"Our teams are investigating who was behind dropping them (at a farmhouse)," he said.
He said a broken mobile phone was recovered from the encounter site and it was handed over to a forensic team that reached the spot early Thursday.
"This is the same forensic team that is investigating the killing of Moosewala," Bhullar said.
He said a bag containing ammunition, some clothes and intoxicant tablets (pharma opioids) were recovered.
"An AK 47 loaded with 31 cartridges and two pistols were recovered. The police have given enough opportunity to the gangsters to surrender. When they opened fire at the police, both were killed in exchange of firing," he said.
Asked whether the AK-47 recovered from the spot was the same that was used in Moosewala's killing, he said that was part of the investigation.
On the recovery of documents to reveal their identity, he denied any recovery. Also, he said so far there was no evidence to corroborate the fact that they were planning to enter Pakistan by crossing the international border.
Meanwhile, the bodies of the slain gangsters were sent to Guru Nanak Dev Hospital in Amritsar for a post-mortem examination.
After the encounter, Promod Ban, ADGP, Anti Gangster Task Force (AGTF) told the media in Amritsar that Manpreet Manu and Jagdeep Rupa, wanted in the Moosewala murder case, were killed in an encounter.
According to the police, the gangsters had taken shelter in an abandoned house near Bhakna village, about 14 km from the border, when the police killed them.
Director General of Police (DGP) Gaurav Yadav also reached the encounter spot. Three policemen suffered bullet injuries in the encounter.
The deceased were identified as Rinki Kumari, Karisma Kumari, Lado Kumari and their aunt Sonam Devi. All of them were residents of Baratandi village. Another minor girl named Vibha Kumari is battling for her life in RIMS Pawapuri.
The BJP government under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi has not allowed a single terrorist act to take place except for a few incidents at the border. The policy is zero tolerance to terrorism. The government has never let down the morale of soldiers and armed forces in the last 7 years, Joshi explained.
Addressing the media here to launch the party's campaign 'Gall Punjab Di', the SAD chief said he would hold 700 public meetings and address each and every section of the society during his 100-day yatra during the course of which SAD workers would go to each and every village and ward in the state.
Amidst the deteriorating situation in Afghanistan, the Indian government decided to recall all embassy personnel from Kabul and they were evacuated by an Indian Air Force C-17 aircraft on Tuesday. The IAF aircraft brought back 120 Indian officials, including the last batch of the Indian embassy staff and ITBP personnel, from the Kabul airport.
Newly-appointed Punjab Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu on Monday appointed Jalandhar Cantt MLA and his close confidant Pargat Singh as the new general secretary of Punjab Congress ahead of the Assembly elections in the state scheduled next year.
The police immediately rushed the duo to Ram Manohar Lohia hospital for treatment. The two have not been identified so far, and Delhi Police are probing the matter to ascertain the reason behind their action.
