CHANDIGARH/JALANDHAR
In a significant achievement against organized crime, the Jalandhar Rural Police arrested three criminals in two separate operations and seized three illegal pistols along with five live cartridges. This crackdown was part of ongoing efforts to curb illegal arms smuggling and prevent violent crimes in the district, said Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Jalandhar Rural Harkamal Preet Singh Khakh here on Friday.
The SSP said that acting on precise intelligence, police teams intercepted the suspects in Lambra and Kartarpur jurisdictions, preventing a planned crime in the Lambra area.
The arrested individuals have been identified as Gagan Gill alias Gagana, a notorious history-sheeter from Malrri village, who is currently on bail in the high-profile Timmy Chawla double murder case; Sandeep Singh alias Shipa, also from Malrri , involved in organized extortion activities; and Vishal Singh alias Bomb, originally from Nakodar City and now residing in Bhogpur, associated with several criminal acts.
The SSP further revealed that Gagan Gill was being handled by an overseas mastermind, Amandeep Purewal, operating from America, who directed extortion and criminal activities in Punjab.
The police have recovered one .30-bore pistol with two live cartridges from Gagan Gill, one .315-bore pistol with one live cartridge from Sandeep Singh, and one .32-bore pistol with two live cartridges from Vishal Singh.
The police have registered two cases under the Arms Act, at Police Station Lambra, at Police Station Kartarpur.
SSP Khakh said that preliminary investigations have uncovered a deep nexus between Gagan Gill and his foreign handler, exposing a larger arms smuggling and extortion network with international roots. Further interrogation is ongoing to identify backward and forward linkages in this case.