Masked duo fires gunshots at IELTS centre in Dera Bassi
Shooters throw extortion letter at IELTS centre’s reception, demanding ₹1 crore on behalf of gangster Manjeet Singh, alias Guri
Masked gunmen struck again in Dera Bassi, firing five shots at an immigration consultancy-cum-IELTS centre located metres away from the local police station. The brazen daylight attack on Thursday afternoon marks the second such incident in two months.
Before fleeing, the shooters, who were captured in CCTV cameras at the spot, flung an extortion letter at the centre’s reception.
Though police are yet to identify the accused, the firing is suspected to have been carried out by operatives of gangster Manjeet Singh, alias Guri alias Money, of Khedi Gujran, Dera Bassi, as his name was mentioned in the extortion letter.
Guri, an associate of gangsters Lawrence Bishnoi and Goldy Brar, is currently lodged in Tihar Jail, Delhi.
He was nabbed by Zirakpur police on November 6, 2023, while his accomplice had managed to flee, after a police encounter on VIP Road, Zirakpur. Later, Delhi police took him on a production warrant in connection with another case, following which he was sent to Tihar Jail.
Police said the modus operandi in Thursday’s attack was similar to that from July 20 this year, when three miscreants, claiming to be from the Kaushal Chaudhary gang, had opened fire in the air outside a diagnostics laboratory after handing over an extortion note to a female doctor.
No fear of law
In the present firing case, one of the two accused fearlessly entered the IELTS centre “Education Point”, located on the first floor of the building, at 1.45 pm, and handed over a letter to the female receptionist, while his accomplice stood outside the glass door.
As the first the accused came out of the centre, his accomplice fired five gunshots at the gate of the centre, before both fled down the stairs. A group of women standing outside watched in horror, having heard the gunshots, as the shooters escaped on a motorcycle. Police later recovered four bullet shells from the spot.
Harwinder Singh, who runs the said centre, said the accused had sought ₹1 crore through the extortion letter. “The letter mentioned Kheri Gujran, Tihar Jail, Delhi. The accused also wrote that his information can be gathered from social media. Moreover, they warned me of dire consequences in case I inform police,” Singh said.
“The gang fired the shots for extortion. These criminals require money to continue with their gang operations and thus target businessmen or prominent personalities for extortion. Prima facie, the shooters of gangster Guri appear to be behind the firing, this will be confirmed after their arrest only,” a cop attached with the probe said.
After being informed, Dera Bassi police, along with senior police officers, including Mohali SSP Deepak Pareek, SP (Rural) Manpreet Singh and Dera Bassi ASP Jayant Puri reached the IELTS centre.
A forensics team reached the spot and collected the crucial evidence from the spot. Multiple investigating units of Punjab Police and SHOs were roped in to track down the accused.
“The two shooters reached the spot on a motorcycle and fired 5-6 bullets at the centre’s gate. They were not targeting any person and thus no one got injured. We have initiated a probe and will soon nab the accused,” said SSP Pareek.
When questioned about the incident’s similarity with the July firing, the SSP said investigation was underway on to ascertain if the shooters were sent by gangster Guri or some other gang.
Meanwhile, police have lodged an FIR for attempt to murder and under relevant sections of the Arms Act at the Dera Bassi police station.