Four Lawrence Bishnoi gang operatives held in Mohali firing-for-extortion cases
Police recover five .30-bore pistols, 12 live cartridges and Fortuner used in alleged firing incidents
Mohali:
Mohali Police have arrested four alleged operatives of the Lawrence Bishnoi gang in connection with three firing incidents targeting houses in the district following alleged Rs 5-crore extortion demands, Senior Superintendent of Police Varun Sharma said on Thursday.
Among those arrested is Akashdeep Singh, 23, of Sector 35-A, Chandigarh, whom police described as a key local operative allegedly handling the gang’s activities in the area. According to Sharma, Akashdeep was allegedly coordinating with gang associates based abroad. The SSP also made allegations regarding Akashdeep’s alleged drug addiction and his involvement in a separate Chandigarh murder case; these claims could not be independently verified.
Police said the other accused are Praveen Kumar alias Kalu, 23, of Bathinda; Jasmandeep Singh, 20, of Sector 114, Kharar; and Dushant Sharma alias Shammi, 27, of Yamunanagar, Haryana.
The arrests follow three firing incidents. During the intervening night of September 4 and 5, two motorcycle-borne men allegedly opened fire at the house of Sanyam Judeja in Phase 10 after Kulvir Singh Sidhu, a Lawrence gang operative based abroad, allegedly demanded Rs 5 crore from him.
On September 7, Judeja’s partner Baljit Singh was allegedly targeted at his Phase 10 residence following another Rs 5-crore demand. On September 14, two motorcycle-borne men allegedly fired at the house of Jagdeep Singh Mann in Sector 104. Sachin, a worker at the house, sustained injuries and is undergoing treatment.
Police said the arrested accused were in contact with gangster Ravinder Singh alias Kali of Balongi, who is lodged in Burail jail, and Kulvir Singh Sidhu. According to police, Jasmandeep conducted reconnaissance of the targeted houses, while Dushant allegedly handled the weapons. Akashdeep, Praveen and their associate Simardeep Singh alias Jashan allegedly carried out the firing. Simardeep remains absconding.
The police recovered two foreign-made .30-bore pistols, three .30-bore pistols, 12 live cartridges and a Fortuner bearing a temporary registration number, allegedly used before and after the incidents.
The investigation was conducted under the supervision of SP (Operations) Akashdeep Singh Aulakh, SP (Investigation) Saurav Jindal and DSP (Investigation) Rajan Parminder Singh. CIA in-charge Inspector Pradeep Singh Bajwa and Operations Cell in-charge Inspector Harminder Singh led the teams.
Police said Ravinder Singh would be brought on production warrant and the arrested accused would be taken on remand for questioning about other incidents and possible recovery of additional illegal weapons.
