Chandigarh: 3 more held in PU shooting case

Students Organisation of Panjab University (SOPU) president Jashanpreet Singh Jawanda was near the botany department on March 17 when the attackers had opened fire at him

Two months after the president of a student party at Panjab University was chased and fired at on campus, police have arrested three more accused in the case.

The alleged main shooter was arrested around 10 days after the attack. (HT File)

Students Organisation of Panjab University (SOPU) president Jashanpreet Singh Jawanda was near the botany department on March 17 when the attackers had opened fire at him. The student leader had escaped unhurt even as the assailants chased him for a distance.

The alleged main shooter was arrested around 10 days after the attack.

Those arrested in the recent operation have been identified as Gaurav alias Gola and Rajat alias Gudda, both from Amritsar, and Ravi Nijjar from Dabwali. Another accused, Aryan of Amritsar, who belongs to the same gang but was not directly involved in the PU shooting, was also arrested by the operations cell.

Police recovered three automatic weapons and 16 live cartridges from them.

During interrogation, the accused revealed that they were working as shooters and key associates for foreign-based gangsters Doni Bal and Shaganpreet Singh. Investigators found that the accused remained in constant touch with the gangsters through encrypted social media applications, and received small amounts of money through QR codes via different channels.

According to police, Nijjar had developed close links with gangster networks through criminal associates and social media platforms.

Accused Aryan had reportedly come to Chandigarh to execute a heinous crime, police said. He was also wanted by Punjab Police in a Class-12 student’s murder case in Amritsar and a firing case in Khanna.

Investigators said the accused were drug addicts and had been influenced by gangster culture. Police suspect Jawanda was targeted because of his position as SOPU president and his claims of proximity to gangster Lawrence Bishnoi, who was associated with SOPU during his college years. Police said the investigation is ongoing and more arrests are likely.