Punjab Police foil targeted killing plot; five operatives linked to Bhagwanpuria gang held

Chandigarh, July 15 (IANS) In a significant breakthrough, Punjab Police have foiled a targeted killing plot with the arrest of five operatives linked to the Jaggu Bhagwanpuria gang, being operated by US-based Husandeep Singh, said Director General of Police (DGP) Gaurav Yadav here on Tuesday.

Two weapons-- PX5 pistol and .32 bore pistol – were recovered from their possession in the intelligence-led operation jointly conducted by Counter-Intelligence Punjab and the district police of Amritsar (Rural) and Batala. Those arrested have been identified as Lovepreet Singh, Sikandar Kumar, alias Gola, and Onkarpreet, alias Jashan -- residents of Shahabad village in Batala; Gagandeep, alias Giani, a resident of Gandhi Camp in Batala and Mehakpreet Singh, a resident of Amritsar.

DGP Yadav said preliminary investigations revealed that incarcerated gangster Bhagwanpuria, currently lodged in Silchar Jail in Assam, had hatched a conspiracy to carry out a target killing of an alleged rival gang member to avenge the recent murder of his mother, an incident that has further intensified the turf war between rival criminal factions.

The DGP said Bhagwanpuria had been conspiring to execute this target killing through his US-based associate Husandeep Singh, who collaborated with ground handlers, including Lovepreet Singh, to mobilise shooters and execute the plan. The first breakthrough came when Amritsar Rural Police, led by Senior Superintendent of Police Maninder Singh, arrested an individual identified, Mehakpreet Singh.

On being interrogated, he disclosed that one Sikandar Kumar had crucial information about the shooters and the execution plan. Sharing operational details, SSP (Batala) Suhail Qasim Mir said that acting swiftly on this information, Batala Police traced Sikandar Kumar and apprehended him along with his aide, Onkarpreet. Further interrogation led to the arrest of another associate, Gagandeep, he said.

He said during sustained questioning, accused Sikandar Kumar revealed that he was being handled by one Lovepreet Singh, a key coordinator in this plot, who was eventually apprehended by the police in a separate operation. The SSP said that the accused, Lovepreet, disclosed that the entire plan was being orchestrated by Bhagwanpuria’s close associate, Husandeep Singh, remotely from the US. The objective of the plot was to eliminate an alleged rival gang member, he added.

--IANS

vg/uk