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Extortion racket busted, 3 of Duneke gang arrested
Khalistan extremist Sukhdool Singh Gill, alias Sukha Duneke, (39) of Moga was shot dead in Winnipeg, Canada, last month in inter-gang rivalry. He was a close associate of notorious gangster Arsh Dalla
The state special operating cell (SSOC), SAS Nagar, busted an extortion racket and arrested three members of Canada-based slain gangster Sukha Duneke’s gang and recovered two .32 bore pistols and 12 live cartridges.
Khalistan extremist Sukhdool Singh Gill, alias Sukha Duneke, (39) of Moga was shot dead in Winnipeg, Canada, last month in inter-gang rivalry. He was a close associate of notorious gangster Arsh Dalla.
The arrested accused were identified as Vishal Singh of Goniana Road, Muktsar; Ranvir Singh of Barnala and Monu Kumar, alias Monu Gujjar, of Patran, Patiala.
Vishal and Ranvir, who were arrested from Kharar on October 17, were earlier booked in attempt to murder cases and Gujjar, who was arrested from Patran, was a proclaimed offender in a case under UA(P) Act and was also booked in other criminal cases, including murder, kidnapping and robbery.
“We received a tip-off that members of Sukha Duneke gang were extorting money from businessmen and influential persons in various districts of Punjab, including Moga, SBS Nagar and Ferozepur. Moreover, members of the gang were supplying illegal arms and ammunition to their associates aiming to execute some target killings in the area,” said a senior Punjab Police officer.
The SSOC on Tuesday arrested the three accused following a tip off and registered a case under the Arms Act, extortion and criminal conspiracy.
While the police recovered a .32 bore pistol and eight live rounds from the possession of Vishal, another .32 bore pistol along with four live rounds was recovered from Gujjar.
A senior officer of the SSOC, SAS Nagar, said during preliminary probe, it was learnt that Vishal came in contact with gangster Duneke in 2020 and was involved in criminal activities following the latter’s directions.
“Vishal was actively working for the gang from the past two to three years. He retrieved two heavy consignments of illegal arms and ammunition from Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra-based arms smugglers and further supplied them to other gang members and their associates in Punjab, who in order to extort money, threatened influential persons and businessmen in the state. Vishal acted as an arsenal for keeping illegal arms and ammunition of the gang,” an officer said who added that in September 2023, Duneke tasked Vishal to execute a target killing in SBS Nagar.
Police added that Vishal introduced his associates Ranvir Singh and Gujjar to Duneke and involved them in crimes. Vishal and Ranvir were sent to judicial custody, Gujjar is still in police custody to know the whereabouts of the other members of the gang.
