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Mohali: Key shooter in Sector-79 firing lands in police net
Two pistols, including a .32 bore and a .30 bore, besides three live cartridges and a motorcycle used in the crime, were recovered from the shooter
Two weeks after four assailants opened fire outside an eatery in Sector 79 on February 26, in a targeted attack on Punjabi lyricist and composer Bunty Bains, Mohali police have cracked the case with the arrest of the fourth and the key shooter.
A team of special branch, led by DSP Gursher Singh Sandhu and inspector Shiv Kumar, arrested the accused, Ranbir Singh, alias Rana, of Majri, Mohali, from Phase 1.
Two pistols, including a .32 bore and a .30 bore, besides three live cartridges and a motorcycle used in the crime, were recovered from him. Police said the motorcycle was stolen property.
Investigators said the targeted attack was carried out at the behest of Armenia-based gangster Lucky Patial, the man leading the Davinder Bambiha gang, with the aim of extorting ₹1 crore from Bains.
According to police, Bains had left Katani Premium Dhaba just an hour before the shooters struck at 1 am past February 26 midnight. The music composer had shared real-time images on his Instagram account minutes before leaving the premises.
Bains, was also manager of slain Punjab singer Shubhdeep Singh, popularly known as Sidhu Moose Wala, who was shot dead in Punjab’s Mansa district in May 2022.
He has his own music label, Brand B. According to sources within the Punjabi music industry, he is responsible for managing all the digital streaming and business activities related to Moose Wala.
Fourth arrest in two weeks
Police have already arrested three accused in the case, starting with Feroz Khan, a native of Nagour district in Rajasthan, who was caught following an encounter in Kurukshetra on February 27, just a day after the firing incident.
The second accused, Amritpal Singh, alias Nannu, was nabbed from Balongi, Mohali, on February 26, followed by the arrest of Arshjot, 26, of Balongi, on March 4. Two weapons were recovered from Amritpal.
Mohali senior superintendent of police (SSP) Sandeep Garg said Arshjot had planned the crime.
Arshjot had met Mandeep Dhaliwal of Ferozepur, an associate of Lucky Patial, in a jail. “On the orders of Patial and Dhaliwal, Arshjot took the shooters to Katani Premium Dhaba for a recce in his Toyota Fortuner car (CH01-AT-3466) before opening fire. We have recovered the car,” the SSP said.
During questioning, Amritpal told police that he had procured the weapons from Patial.
“Dhaliwal also transferred ₹1 lakh in the account of Arshjot. The latter was earlier booked in an attempt to murder case at Sohana police station. The accused were tracking the social media posts of Bains,” the police official said.
Among the four accused, Feroz is also named in the January murder of Rajan, a shooter for the rival Lawrence Bishnoi gang. Rajan, a resident of Kurukshetra, was allegedly shot dead before his body was set on fire along the Western Jamuna Canal in Yamunanagar on January 29.
