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4 of Bambiha gang held in Faridkot murder case
Investigators confirmed that Yadvinder became a victim of a mistaken identity, as the criminals had come to target Jiwanjot Singh Chahal alias Jugnu, a native of Mansa and an accused in the Sidhu Moose Wala murder case.
The Faridkot police have arrested four persons linked to the Bambiha gang operated by a fugitive criminal, Lucky Patial, in connection with the murder of Yadwinder Singh on July 22.
Investigators confirmed that Yadvinder became a victim of a mistaken identity, as the criminals had come to target Jiwanjot Singh Chahal alias Jugnu, a native of Mansa and an accused in the Sidhu Moose Wala murder case.
The four accused in the crime were held in a joint operation of the district police with teams of counterintelligence and anti-gangster task force (AGTF).
The deceased was working as a driver for Chahal and Yadwinder was driving the SUV when he was shot dead by three bike-borne assailants at Brahmanwala village in Faridkot last week.
The incident took place after Chahal attended a bhog ceremony in Brahmanwala village. After the event, Chahal switched vehicles, leaving his SUV to be driven by Yadvinder. As the vehicle left the gurdwara, three motorcycle-borne assailants opened fire on the SUV.
Yadvinder was the only person hit, while three others in the vehicle were unharmed.
CCTV footage from the area showed three assailants involved in the crime.
Police nabbed the main shooter, Chinki of Jaito in Faridkot and Suraj Kumar, accused of harbouring the shooters, of Sirsa. Both were arrested from Sirsa on Sunday.
Faridkot senior superintendent of police (SSP) Pragya Jain said on Monday that the initial questioning of Chinki revealed that Lucky Patial tasked him to eliminate Chahal.
“Chinki’s brother Deepak Mann was a notorious criminal with the Bambiha gang and the latter was found shot dead in Sonepat in 2023. Chinki claimed Patial asked him to avenge Deepak’s murder by targeting Chahal,” said the SSP.
The SSP said that details of two other persons arrested in the case will be shared later, as a police operation is underway.
She said that Chinki was taken to Bir Sekhawala village near Kotkapura this morning for the recovery of the motorbike used in the crime.
“The bike was hidden in an area covered with thick vegetation. On reaching there, Chinki opened three rounds of fire on the police from a weapon that he had hidden somewhere in the bike. In a retaliatory action, Chinki suffered a bullet injury in his leg and he was rushed to the hospital for medical attention,” said Jain.
Faridkot SSP said she could not comment on Chahal’s alleged involvement in the Moose Wala murder as the case was related to Mansa district.
Mansa SSP Bhagirath S Meena was evasive in clarifying if Chahal is still wanted in the murder of Moose Wala or if he has been absolved of the charges, stating, “the matter is under investigation.”
When contacted, the deputy inspector general (DIG), Bathinda range, Harjeet Singh, confirmed that Chahal’s name figured as an accused/suspect in the Mooswala murder.
“Chahal’s name cropped up in the conspiracy angle due to an alleged social media post. He has not been given a clean chit,” said the DIG.
