Kingpin among 11 of gang involved in organised crime held in Punjab

Punjab director general of police

Punjab police’s Anti-Gangster Task Force (AGTF) in a joint operation with central agencies and J&K police arrested a gangster identified as Charanjit Singh alias Raju Shooter— who escaped from the Tarn Taran civil hospital and his 10 aides during a 48-hour long operation carried out in different parts of Punjab and Jammu & Kashmir.

Disclosing this, Punjab director general of police (DGP) Gaurav Yadav said the police teams have recovered four weapons including one double barrel rifle, which was stolen from Tarn Taran-based gun house on February 28, 2024, and three pistols along with 26 live cartridges.

The 10 persons arrested, along with Raju Shooter, have been identified as Husanpreet Singh alias Husan of Pidhi village in Tarn Taran, Gulab Singh alias Gulab of Bachde village in Tarn Taran, Amritpal Singh alias Chidi of Mohalla Jaswant Singh in Tarn Taran, Baljinder Singh alias Lokka of Lokka village; Bobby of Ajnala; Lovpreet Singh alias Love, Amritpal Singh alias Sandeep Singh and Sajan alias Kalu, all residents of Thathian Mahantan village in Tarn Taran, Sukhchain Singh alias Mogali and Harmesh Singh alias Chichu, both residents of Vadayia village in Muktsar.

Gangster Raju Shooter is a kingpin of an organised criminal gang active in the Majha region mainly in districts including Tarn Taran, Amritsar and Amritsar Rural. All the arrested accused were involved in criminal activities including attempt to murder, robbery, drug smuggling, etc, cops said.

In September 2023, the gang was involved in a failed attempt to loot a bank at Dhotian village in Tarn Taran in which one police officer was critically wounded in firing by the accused persons. On April 16, 2024, associates of Raju Shooter orchestrated his escape from Tarn Taran civil hospital where he was undergoing treatment.

The DGP said that following reliable inputs, AGTF-Punjab headed by ADGP Promod Ban mobilised 12 police teams under the supervision of AIG Sandeep Goel to track Raju Shooter and his gang members. DSP Rajan Parminder, DSP Bikramjit Singh Brar, DSP Harminder Singh and DSP Jaspal Singh participated and led this operation.

“Over the 48-hour long operation, which involved meticulous intelligence gathering, technical analysis, and swift action, led to the apprehension of gangster Raju Shooter and his 10 aides from different parts of Punjab and J&K,” the DGP said while expressing gratitude to the J&K police and central agencies for support.

AIG Sandeep Goel said that a preliminary investigation has revealed that six associates of Raju Shooter facilitated his escape from the hospital. Out of six, police have arrested three facilitators, including Gulab Singh, Husanpreet Singh and Amritpal Singh alias Chidhi, he said, while adding that a manhunt is on to arrest another three facilitators.

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