Punjab’s most wanted gangster Vicky Gounder, 28, and his associate Prema Lahoria were shot dead by Punjab Police in an encounter on Friday, IG Bathinda Mukhwinder Singh Chhina said. Vicky Gounder was one of the six prisoners who had escaped from maximum-security Nabha Jail in 2016.
Gounder was shot twice. The gangsters also fired over a dozen rounds at the police.
Another unknown accomplice of the gangsters has been rushed to Ganganagar hospital in Rajasthan where he is also reportedly critical.
They were shot dead in a heavy exchange of fire. Two Punjab Police cops also sustained injuries in the abdomen and chest. The two policemen were referred to a hospital with serious injuries.
Inspector General Special Operations Group Nilabh Kishore said the police got a tip-off that Gounder was near the Punjab -Rajasthan border area and the police conducted the operation to nab him at Hindumal Kot village of Abohar subdivision in Fazilka district.
Gounder emerged as the Punjab police’s prime target after he broke out of the Nabha high-security jail in November 2016. He eluded capture despite police getting intelligence reports that he was mostly in Punjab after the jailbreak. Gounder, who used to taunt the police on Facebook while he was on the run, allegedly killed three rival gang members in April last year in Gurdaspur.
Harjinder Bhullar (27) alias Jinder alias Vicky Gounder was the son of farmer Mehal Singh Bhullar, of Sarawan Bodla village in former Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal’s home turf Lambi.
Gounder was one of the deadliest gangsters of the state, who broke out of maximum-security Nabha jail on November 27 in 2016. Gounder (meaning a goon in local parlance) was the prime accused in the killing of Sukha Kahlwan, a gangster.
Congratulations to Punjab Police for killing most wanted gangster Vicky Gounder and his aide Prema Lahoria. Excellent work by DGP Suresh Arora, DG Intelligence Dinkar Gupta and OCCU team, including AIG Gurmeet Singh and Inspector Vikram Brar. Proud of you boys.
— Capt.Amarinder Singh (@capt_amarinder) January 26, 2018
He had allegedly danced over the body and filmed the act before fleeing. His audacity and claim to fame is he once uploaded a post on Facebook and dared the then Bathinda SSP to arrest him.
A 20-member police team took part in the operation in which the two gangsters were shot dead.
Kashmir Singh, the other prisoner who had escaped with Gounder, is still at large.
Vicky Gounder had highway robbery cases in Punjab and several cases in Haryana and Rajasthan as well. However, he was once a star child of his village for winning three gold and two silver medals in discuss throw at national level.
He had joined Speed Fund academy in Jalandhar for further training and studies. But he had started involving himself in petty fights, after which he left the academy and engaged in various criminal activities.
ਮੱਚਦੇ ਨੇ ਜਿਹੜੇ ਸਾਡੀ ਟੋਹਰ ਵੇਖ ਕੇ, ਵੱਖਰਾ ਨਜ਼ਾਰਾ ਓਹਨਾਂ ਨੂੰ ਮਚਾਉਣ ਦਾ.... ਫੁਕਰੇ ਬਥੇਰੇ ਲੰਡੀ ਬੁਚੀ ਫਿਰਦੇ, ਸਾੰਨੂ ਵੀ ਆ ਸੌਂਕ ਵੈਰੀ ਤੜ ਫਾਉਣ ਦਾ #say_no_to_drugs
Posted by Vicky Gounder Sarawan Bodla on Tuesday, 9 February 2016
