CHANDIGARH/TARN TARAN, August 9:
In a major breakthrough in the sensational murder case of Shaurya Chakra Awardee Balwinder Singh Sandhu, the Punjab Police on Tuesday arrested a key accused identified as Gurwinder Singh alias Baba alias Raja from Tarn Taran. Gurwinder Baba’s two aides identified as Sandeep Singh alias Kala of Amritsar and Gurpreet Singh alias Randhawa were also arrested.
The Police have also 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.
The development came amid the ongoing decisive war against drugs and gangsters waged by the Punjab Police on the directions of Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann to make Punjab a drug-free and crime-free state.
Director General of Police (DGP) Punjab Gaurav Yadav said that accused Gurwinder Singh alias Baba, who is proclaimed offender (PO) of the National Investigation Agency (NIA), had played a pivotal role in the killing of Shaurya Chakra Awardee Balwinder Singh Sandhu by providing weapons to shooters. A probe revealed that Gurwinder Baba is a close associate of Notorious Gangsters Sukhpreet Singh alias Harry Chatha and Sukhmeetpal Singh alias Sukh Bikhariwal— a prime suspect in Shaurya Chakra Awardee Balwinder Singh’s murder case, he said.
The preliminary investigations indicated that the recovered explosives and arms and ammunition were to be used to disrupt the peace and harmony and create a sense of terror in the state of Punjab on/around Independence Day, said the DGP.
Inspector General of Police (IGP) Ferozepur Range Jaskaran Singh, while addressing a press conference in the presence of SSP Tarn Taran Ranjit Singh Dhillon, said that following the reliable inputs that Gurwinder Baba along with his aide Sandeep is on the way to Khadoor Sahib, the Tarn Taran Police Party had intercepted the white Lancer car in which both were travelling and managed to arrest them. Two pistols with loaded magazines, 635 grams heroin, 100gram opium and Rs 3.90 lakh drug money were recovered from the car, he added.
The IGP said that, later, following the disclosures of Gurwinder Baba, the Police have also 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 added.
Divulging more details, SSP Tarn Taran Ranjit Singh Dhillon said that the FIR no. 118 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.
