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Chandigarh: Ex-journalist to be quizzed for bouncer’s murder
Mahajan is lodged in Burail jail in connection with the property grab case in which slain bouncer Surjit was also named as an accused
Accused in a property grab case, former journalist with a Hindi daily, Sanjiv Mahajan, will now be quizzed with regard to the murder of bouncer-cum-financier Surjit Singh, who was gunned down in March last year. Mahajan’s is the first arrest in Surjit murder case though police are yet to nominate him as an accused.
Mahajan is lodged in Burail jail in connection with the property grab case in which slain bouncer Surjit was also named as an accused. Mahajan was arrested along with realtor Manish Gupta, Satpal Dagar, brother of deputy superintendent of police Ram Gopal, and Chandigarh Police inspector Rajdeep Singh in the property grab case. Chandigarh Police on March 2 had booked around 10 people, including slain bouncer Surjit Singh, for kidnapping and torturing Rahul Mehta, the sole heir of his family, in April 2017 to secure the general power of attorney of his 338-square-yard house and selling it to Manish Gupta’s brother for ₹2.9 crore in March 2019.
“We have brought him on production warrants as we had some leads against Mahajan. He was formally arrested but his involvement is part of investigations. In case his role emerges, he will be nominated as an accused,” said Kuldeep Singh Chahal, senior superintendent of police, Chandigarh.
Earlier, Mahajan moved an application for his narco and brain mapping test in connection to Surjit’s murder case which was dismissed by the court. He also moved an application before the court to allow his counsel to be present during the questioning and medical examination, which was allowed. The court, however, dismissed his request to install CCTV cameras where his interrogation will be done.
Surjit’s wife suspected Mahajan’s involvement
Mahajan was on Friday produced before a court and remanded to two-day police custody. Police had procured Mahajan’s production warrants after Surjit’s wife Meenakshi raised suspicion that Mahajan could be involved in the murder of her husband.
“In her statement before the police, Meenakshi claimed that Mahajan and Surjit developed differences owing to financial transactions which may have led to the murder of her husband,” said Shruti Arora, assistant superintendent of police (ASP, South), Chandigarh.
She added, “We have got his remand and will question him. If anything conclusive comes up against him, further action will be taken up accordingly.”
Gangster Bambiha group had already claimed responsibility for gunning down Surjit Singh (39). The gang through social media had bragged about the murder of Surjit to avenge the killing of bouncer Amit Sharma at Saketri. Surjit was shot dead by two bike-borne unidentified people around 11pm on March 16, 2020, in Sector 38 (West). As per the police, Surjit was considered a sympathiser of gangster Lawrence Bishnoi. He was into business of supplying bouncers in the Tricity.
