E-Paper
Batala firing: Prime accused held from Bhutan border in West Bengal
The main accused in the Batala firing incident, in which a Shiv Sena leader and his family were injured, has been arrested by Punjab Police and Central agencies in West Bengal. The accused, who has a criminal background, was apprehended at the Indo-Bhutan border. Investigations are ongoing to establish a money trail, as it is believed that the entire module was being handled from abroad. Efforts are being made to arrest the remaining accused persons.
The Counter-Intelligence (CI) wing of Punjab Police in a joint operation with Central agencies and West Bengal police arrested the main accused in the Batala firing incident case from Indo-Bhutan Border in Alipurduar district in West Bengal.
The 21-year-old arrested accused has a criminal background and was out on bail in a murder case. The police, however, refused to disclose the name of the accused and said it will hamper the investigations.
On June 24, this year, Shiv Sena leader Rajeev Mahajan, his brother Anil Gupta and his son Manav Gupta sustained bullet injuries after two assailants barged into their electronics shop at Lakkar Mandi in Batala and opened fire.
Punjab director general of police Gaurav Yadav said that based on technical inputs and evidence, the CI located the accused person in the Alipurduar district of West Bengal. “Batala Police immediately dispatched a team for West Bengal, and also shared the pinpointed information with the WB police,” he said.
He said that the Punjab Police, in coordination with Central agencies and West Bengal police, arrested the accused person from Indo-Bhutan Border.
“The preliminary investigations revealed that the entire module was being handled from abroad and the arrested accused was receiving funds from foreign-based handlers to commit these crimes,” the DGP said, adding that investigation to establish a money trail is going on.
SSP Batala Ashwini Gotyal said that the police are working on different leads, and efforts are on to arrest the remaining accused persons in this case. Further investigations are on, she added.
An FIR no103 dated 24/6/2023 was registered under Sections 452, 307 and 34 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Section 25 of the Arms Act at Police Station City Batala.
