Chandigarh, Aug 9 (IANS) In a major breakthrough in the killing of Shaurya Chakra awardee Balwinder Singh Sandhu in 2020, Punjab Police on Tuesday arrested key accused Gurwinder Singh, a.k.a. Baba, from Tarn Taran.
His two aides -- Sandeep Singh and Gurpreet Singh -- were also arrested, They were allegedly involved in cross-border smuggling of narcotics and weapons.
The police have also recovered one hand-grenade, one RDX-IED, two .30 bore pistols, besides magazines and 13 cartridges, 635 gm heroin, 100 gm opium, Rs 36.90 lakh drug money, and one Mitsubishi Lancer car from their possession.
Director General of Police (DGP) Gaurav Yadav said accused Gurwinder Singh, who was wanted by the National Investigation Agency (NIA), had played a key role in the killing of Sandhu by providing weapons to shooters.
A probe revealed that Gurwinder is a close associate of gangsters Sukhpreet Singh and Sukhmeetpal Singh.
Preliminary investigations indicated that the recovered explosives and arms and ammunition were to be used to disrupt peace and harmony and create a sense of terror in the state on or before Independence Day, said the DGP.
Inspector General of Police (Ferozepur Range) Jaskaran Singh said following inputs that Gurwinder Baba with his aide Sandeep was on the way to Khadoor Sahib, the Tarn Taran police had intercepted their car and managed to arrest them.
SSP Ranjit Singh Dhillon said the arrests are likely to lead to disclosures of cross-border smuggling modules.
Two motorcycle-borne assailants shot dead Shaurya Chakra awardee Sandhu at his residence in Bhikhiwind in the border district of Tarn Taran in October 2020.
During investigation, the police learnt that a marriage function was going on at the Matangi Bhavan in Chattarpur. The 'barat' came from Bahadurgarh, Haryana, and the injured was part of the barat.
The meeting witnessed a free-wheeling interaction by the Prime Minister with the delegation on diverse topics like farmers' welfare, youth empowerment, drug-free society, National Educational Policy, skilling, employment, technology and Punjab's overall development trajectory.
According to her, their ancestral residence is at Mahishadal adjacent to Tamluk. "However, he left for Delhi long back in search of livelihood. He used to earn his livelihood from a small meat shop at Jahangirpuri."
Lauding this citizen-centric initiative of the Local Government Department, Mann said it would be instrumental in saving the life and property of the people from the hazardous fire incidents often taking place.
Prabhat Kumar, the lawyer of Lalu Prasad Yadav has filed a bail bond of Rs 10 lakh in the Ranchi high court. Besides, another Rs 1 lakh bail bond was also submitted in the court by Ranjan Kumar and Anant Singh, his bail guarantors in the court.
According to the official, a tip-off was received following which an NCB team raided the specified locations and recovered 50 kg high quality heroin, 47 kg suspected narcotics, Rs 30 lakh cash, cash counting machines and other incriminating material.
