Court acquits two gangsters in SAD councillor’s killing in Amritsar

A local court on Tuesday acquitted two notorious gangsters in the killing of a former Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) councillor in Amritsar, observing that the bullet which hit the deceased was not fired from the pistol that was recovered from the accused.

Former SAD councillor Joginderpal alias Ginda was shot at by two persons at a temple in Dr BR Colony here November 8, 2016, following which he died. Saraj Singh Sandhu alias Saraj Mintu and Sagar alias Boby Malhotra were accused in the case.

Reacting to the court’s judgement, Boby’s lawyer Amandeep Singh said, “police had seized a pistol with the arrest of Boby. The bullet which hit Ginda was sent for forensic examination. The report of the bullet showed that it was not fired from the pistol that was recovered from Boby. This was the main contending point on the basis of which the duo has been acquitted.”

Both Saraj and Boby are facing other criminal cases, including high-profile murders of a Hindu leader and a Congress councillor in Amritsar.

Boby is the prime accused in the killing of Congress party’s councillor Gurdeep Pehlwan in 2018. Boby, who is a close associate of notorious gangster Jaggu Bhagwanpurai and is facing more than three dozen criminal cases, had allegedly nursed a grudge against Pehalwan.

Saraj is a prime accused in the killing of Vipin Sharma, an Amritsar-based leader of a right-wing organisation called Hindu Sangharsh Sena, in Jalandhar in 2018. Punjab Police had announced ₹ 5 lakh reward on Saraj.