Amritsar man held for attack on school trustee, aide at large
The accused had been tasked by a US-based man who failed to extort money from the victim. The arrested accused has been identified as Pritpal Singh, alias Gora, of Atari in Amritsar.
Ten days after two assailants opened fire targeting Baldev Singh of Chandigarh, a trustee of Garden Valley International School that operates several branches across Punjab, including Machhiwara Sahib, the Khanna police arrested an Amritsar resident. His aide managed to escape. According to the police, it was a matter of extortion. The assailants had received directions from a US-based person to open fire at Baldev Singh.
The arrested accused has been identified as Pritpal Singh, alias Gora, of Atari in Amritsar. The police have concealed the identity of the other assailant. The accused reportedly told the police that the US-based man had promised ₹2 lakh for the task, but they haven’t got any money from him till date.
The police have not revealed any details about the mastermind. Khanna senior superintendent of police (SSP) Ashwani Gotyal said the victim had received extortion calls from the US. As he refused to pay the extortion money, the accused orchestrated the attack.
The SSP added that soon after the incident, the police formed several teams to trace the assailants involved in the crime. The Khanna police with the help of the State Special Operation Cell (SSOC) and the counter-intelligence to trace the accused.
Further, the SSP added that the accused used a .32 bore pistol and a Hyundai i-20 car in the crime which the accused procured through a link. More information is being expected from the accused, according to the police.
Recently, car-borne two assailants had opened fire on Baldev Singh, 55, near Garhi Bride on the Sirhind canal when he was on his way from the school to his house in Chandigarh. Baldev Singh’s mobile phone saved his life. At the time of the attack, he was on a call and when one of the assailants fired targeting his head, the bullet struck the phone. The impact was absorbed by the phone with fragments hitting Baldev Singh but sparing him from a potentially fatal injury.