Four with Bishnoi gang links arrested for Mohali firings

3 firings in 10 days, one of the accused is the son of UT woman arrested for plotting a property dealer’s murder earlier this year

The son of the woman arrested in the Chandigarh property dealer’s murder case earlier this year is among the four persons – allegedly having links with the Lawrence Bishnoi gang – arrested for the string of extortion-linked firing incidents in Mohali that took place over the last 10 days.

The accused coordinated through Snapchat and other social media platforms but did not use WhatsApp for communication, police said. (HT File)

The accused have been identified as Akashdeep Singh, 23, a resident of Sector 35-A, Parveen Kumar alias Kalu, 23, of Bathinda, Jasmandeep Singh, 20, of Kharar, and Dushant Sharma alias Shammi, 27, of Yamunanagar. Akashdeep is the son of Amreen Rai, who remains behind bars for plotting the murder of property dealer Chamanpreet Singh in March this year, according to the police. Five pistols, 12 live cartridges and a Fortuner, belonging to Akashdeep, allegedly used in the crime, have been recovered from them.

Jubilee Walk co-owners among targets

The accused had allegedly carried out three firings – the first outside Jubilee Walk co-owner Sanyam Judeja’s residence in Phase 10 during the intervening night of September 4 and 5, the second outside his partner Baljit Singh’s house, also in Phase 10, on September 7. On September 14, two men opened fire outside the residence of one Jagdeep Singh Mann’s in Sector 104, and later his employee’s house. The cases were registered at the Phase 11 and Sohana police stations.

Bishnoi aide had made ₹5-cr extortion calls

According to senior superintendent of police (SSP) Varun Sharma each of the targets had received ₹5 crore extortion calls from Kulvir Singh Sidhu, an alleged Bishnoi aide based abroad, before the firings.

Police said Akashdeep and Parveen allegedly carried out the shootings along with their associate Simardeep Singh alias Jashan, who remains on the run. Jasmandeep allegedly conducted reconnaissance of the targeted houses, while Dushant allegedly handled and kept the weapons used in the attacks.

The accused coordinated through Snapchat and other social media platforms but did not use WhatsApp for communication, police said.

Accused stayed home even after firings

While Akashdeep’s mother is said to have contacted the Lucky Patial gang to kill property dealer Chamanpreet Singh after suffering a loss of ₹8 crore in a property transaction, the youngster had allegedly come into contact with the Bishnoi gang through one of its associates – Ravinder Singh alias Kali, who is lodged in Burail jail. Interestingly, the Bishnoi gang and Bambiha gang, which Patial leads from Armenia, are known to have a long-running turf war.

According to police, Akashdeep hails from an affluent, land owning family in Punjab. Their relative is an additional director general of police (ADGP)-rank officer in the state.

Police sources said Akashdeep continued to stay at his Sector Sector 35-A residence even after carrying out the firings. Investigators are examining the movements of the other accused, who allegedly fled towards Panchkula and Ambala after the shootings and later stayed in Kharar.

Police will seek remand of the four accused. Investigators are also looking for Simardeep and probing whether more weapons and associates are linked to the network.