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Wanted Dilpreet-Rinda gang shooter lands in Chandigarh Police net
Property dealer who hired him to threaten a cop and his adversaries also arrested; countrymade pistol and five live cartridges recovered.
Wanted in 20 cases by the Punjab Police, a 26-year-old shooter of the Dilpreet-Rinda gang was arrested by the Chandigarh Police on Monday night.
Gurpreet Singh, alias Gopi, was arrested along with a property dealer, Firoz Khan, 32, of Govind Nagar, Nayagaon, who had allegedly hired him to issue threats and fire at a superintendent of police (SP) (First Battalion) and his son owing to a property dispute in Nayagaon.
The duo was arrested from the road behind the Football Ground, Sector 17, Chandigarh.
A countrymade pistol and five live cartridges were recovered from Khan’s Maruti Swift car.
Police said Gopi was driving the car and on spotting the police team tried to flee by reversing the vehicle, but the cops managed to intercept the car.
“Khan had disputes with a few property dealers as well and had hired Gopi to threaten them too,” said a senior police official.
A case under the Arms Act and Section 120B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code was registered at the Sector 17, Chandigarh, police station.
The accused were on Tuesday produced before a court and sent to three-day police custody.
“Gopi is an active member of the Dilpreet-Rinda gang. He is facing cases registered in Ludhiana, Sangrur, Rajpura and Sector 11 police station, Chandigarh. He was hired by Khan after being released from the Nabha jail six months ago,” said inspector Ram Rattan, station house officer, Sector 17 police station, Chandigarh.
LONG LIST OF CRIMES
The very first criminal case against Gopi was for a murder in Balachaur, Punjab, in 2011.
According to police, Gopi had helped gangster Dilpreet Baba escape from police custody in 2016. A case in this regard was registered at the Kathgarh police station in Nawanshahr.
After escaping from custody, Dilpreet, along with gangster Harvinder Singh Rinda and Akash, had killed a sarpanch outside the Sector 38 West gurdwara in broad daylight. Dilpreet was arrested, while the other two remain at large.
Gopi had also previously held the charge of the Panjab University Student Union’s (PUSU) chairman, though he had never been enrolled in the varsity.
In April 2016, Gopi, along with Rinda, Resham Godara, Satwinder Singh Navaal and others, had allegedly opened fire on the PU campus after a fight between leaders of PUSU and Student Organisation of India (SOI).
SOI’s Manpreet Aulakh had suffered a gun injury on his upper thigh, Godara on the head and Jashanpreet from SOI on his arm and legs.
The accused had even threatened to kill inspector Narinder Patial, who was then posted as the Sector 11 SHO.
While lodged in the Patiala Central Jail in January 2014, Gopi, along with Rinda and others, had tried to kill the deputy jail superintendent.
