5 of Landa gang arrested, three firearms seized

With this, the number of arrested Landa gang members in the past one month has reached 13, says commissioner of police Swapan Sharma.

The Jalandhar commissionerate police have arrested five members of Canada-based terrorist Lakhbir Singh Landa group. Three sophisticated weapons have been seized from them.

The accused in the police custody in Jalandhar on Sunday. (HT photo)

The accused have been identified as Simranjit Singh, Paramjit Singh, Dilbagh Singh, Dilpreet Singh and Sajandeep Singh, all from Tarn Taran district. Commissioner of police Swapan Sharma said three .30 bore pistols were seized from the possession of Simranjit, Paramjit and Dilpreet.

“They were in contact with Landa upon whose directions they threatened traders and shopkeepers in Tarn Taran and Amritsar,” he said. With this, the number of arrested Landa gang members in the past one month has reached 13, he said.

The police had launched a crackdown on the Landa gang after three of its members — Gurpreet Singh, Bhupinder Singh and Jagroop Singh — reportedly opened fire at a security officer of a private company after its owner didn’t pay heed to their extortion demand on June 10. Based on further investigations, the police arrested five more members on June 30.

They had been involved in extortion from prominent businessmen in Tarn Taran, Amritsar and Jalandhar.