Chandigarh Police get 5-day remand of shooter who opened fire outside bizman’s house

The crime branch on June 6 arrested Karan Sharma from Mauli Jagran, where he had been hiding after executing the crime in Sector 33 on May 31

Chandigarh Police on Sunday obtained five-day remand of Karan Sharma, the third accused and first of the five shooters arrested for the firing outside a businessman’s house in Sector 33 on May 31.

The crime branch on Saturday arrested Sharma from Mauli Jagran, where he had been hiding after the shooting. He was produced in court on Sunday.

Investigations revealed that the 23-year-old from Ludhiana had been pursuing hotel management course at a private varsity in Mohali.

Eager to join the Lawrence Bishnoi gang, he came in contact with his key aide Deepu Banur, who is lodged in the Ambala jail, through Facebook. It was Deepu who directed Karan to execute the firing along with four other gang members, said police.

The men had fired 17 shots outside the bungalow of hotelier Rakesh Singla, what police said was a targeted attack on his younger brother, liquor baron Arvind Singla.

His is the third arrest in the case after Sewak alias, Guri, 25, who lives and runs a gym in Kharar, and Kulwinder Singh, alias Kala, 40, of Sarangpur village were held for providing logistical support to the shooters.

Lawrence Bishnoi, who studied from DAV College, Sector 10, has been running his gang in Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan from behind the bars. He had even threatened to kill film actor Salman Khan.

He has allegedly been executing various crimes through his key aide Deepu. To unearth the conspiracy and ascertain the motive, police are now seeking Deepu’s custody.

“Deepu was in direct touch with Sewak, after the two came in contact in the Ambala jail. Sewak had provided logistical support to the Lawrence Bishnoi gang on earlier occasions too,” said sources.

Sewak, during his interrogation, allegedly told police that Deepu had called him from jail, asking him to contact Bishnoi for some work. He was allegedly asked to arrange a vehicle for some men who were coming to Chandigarh for “sightseeing”. He had then borrowed a Ford Ikon from Gurdeep Singh of Banur and handed it to the men, who executed the shooting. Gurdeep has become an approver for the police, and it was on his statement that Sewak was arrested.