Ex-Punjab cop’s son in net for harbouring gangsters

A 21-year-old son of a former Punjab Police head constable was arrested for allegedly harbouring three gangsters for over two months at a rented accommodation in Sector 40 here.

Following the information provided by the accused, identified as Harry Bajwa, the Punjab Police organised crime control unit (OCCU) on Monday arrested the three gangsters — Harman Bhullar, Balraj Singh, alias Buri Basantkotia, and Harwinder Sandhu — along with their four aides in connection with the murder of a former sarpanch of Umarpura village in Amritsar in January this year.

Deputy superintendent of police (DSP) of OCCU Vikram Singh Brar said, “Harry, a native of Fatehgarh Sahib, is a dropout from DAV College, Sector 10, who worked with a private firm in the city. His father, Ravinder Singh, was a police constable. Harry came in contact with the accused through his friends during a sports tournament in Amritsar.”

“Bhullar shot the former sarpanch, Gurdeep Singh, 55, dead while he was returning home from a gurdwara in Umarpura on January 1, after which the three gangsters came to Chandigarh, where Harry readily agreed to rent out a three-bedroom place for their stay in Sector 40D on his ID proof,” the DSP said.

“Around two months later, the gangsters found that the police were close on their heels, following which they shifted places, but were nabbed later,” he said.

A case under Sections 302 (murder) and 120B (criminal conspiracy) was registered against the accused.

Intelligence wing lapses to the fore

The Chandigarh police intelligence wing once again failed to caution the station house officers concerned about the presence of the gangsters in the city.

Bajwa helped three gangsters stay in Sector 40 for over two months and also assisted them in providing guns to their associates.

Likewise, last year, on December 18, a sharp shooter from Lawrence Bishnoi gang, Deepak alias Tinu managed to give specialised units of Chandigarh police, namely crime branch, operations and intelligence wing, a slip as he accompanied the three shooters to kill two college students living in a rented apartment in Sector 15. This development came three months after Tinu shot dead property dealer Sonu Shah at his office in Burail.

A senior official of Chandigarh police, requesting anonymity, said, “We don’t have adequate infrastructure to trace gangsters as they use online calling to communicate. So, it is arduous to track them and we have to rely on Punjab Police for assistance.”