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Chandigarh Police crack Sector 33 firing case, but get the stick from Governor
Arrest prime suspect; governor comes down on police for complacence that failed to prevent two firing incidents in three days despite restrictions in place due to Covid-19
Even as the Chandigarh Police arrested the main suspect in the Sector 33 firing on Wednesday, Punjab governor and UT administrator VP Singh Badnore came down heavily on the police, expressing his displeasure over two firing incidents in the city within three days.
Chairing a crime review meeting, Badnore expressed concern over the two firings— one in Sector 33 on May 31 and another in Sector 9 on June 2, and asked the police department to fix accountability of the police officials found complacent.
The administrator pointed out that the firing incidents took place despite restrictions in place, and directed the police to be more proactive to avoid such incidents that instilled fear in residents.
Pulling up the police, he asked them to ensure intensive patrolling, more nakas and enhance police visibility on the streets of Chandigarh. The administrator also asked the police to act tough against active criminals.
DGP Sanjay Baniwal apprised Badnore of the inter-state coordination meeting between Chandigarh, Punjab and Haryana scheduled on Thursday. Besides the recent shooting incidents, on focus at the meeting will be various issues of crime, security and sharing of criminal intelligence, Baniwal said.
ZIRAKPUR GYM OWNER ARRESTED
The police on Wednesday arrested Sewak, alias Guri, 25, resident of Shivalik Vihar, Zirakpur, as the prime suspect in the firing at the Sector 33 bungalow of hotelier and businessman Rakesh Singla because of his rivalry with his younger brother, liquor baron Arvind Singla.
As many as 17 shots we fired from two .30 and .32 bore weapons.
Police said Sewak ran a gym in Zirakpur and had been working for jailed gangster Lawrence Bishnoi for the past two years. He aided the gangster by supplying vehicles.
Sewak was arrested from the traffic lights near DT Mall at Chandigarh IT Park. A countrymade pistol and eight live cartridges, besides a Hyundai Creta, bearing a Mohali registration number and used as a getaway vehicle by Sewak after the firing, was recovered from him.
Police said he will be produced before the court on Thursday for his remand, following which he will be interrogated about his accomplices and the motive behind the crime.
Sewak’s arrest came on the statement of Gurdeep Singh, alias Babbu, hailing from Banur, Punjab.
“The accused had borrowed Gurdeep’s Ford Ikon, which he used in the crime. The car was captured in the CCTV cameras, which led us to Gurdeep and then to Sewak. The vehicle has been recovered,” said a police official, privy to the case.
NO HEADWAY IN SECTOR 9 FIRING
Meanwhile, the police have failed to make any headway in the firing at a liquor shop in Sector 9 on Tuesday evening. Two masked men had opened fired at the shop, leaving four people injured.
Ram Avtar Batra, 69, who is running the shop since April 2018, revealed the names of some people, who he had a monetary dispute with, in his statement to the police.
A case was registered on the complaint of Akbar Khan, hailing from Kangra in Himachal Pradesh, who works at the wine shop.
Different teams from the crime branch, operations cell and Sector 3 police station are working to trace the two shooters, who had arrived in a white Honda Amaze car and fired 10 rounds from .22 bore and .32 pistols..
