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Mohali: Kidnapped scribe rescued from Faridkot, 1 nihang held
The victim, Gurpiyar Singh, who works as a news anchor and producer with Hamdard Media TV, was forcibly taken away by three men around 7 pm on November 4 from outside his office in Shivalik Vihar, Nayagaon
Two days after a vernacular news channel journalist was kidnapped from outside his office in Nayagaon, police rescued him from Kotkapura in Faridkot and arrested a nihang in connection with the abduction.
A payment dispute is believed to have triggered the kidnapping.
The victim, Gurpiyar Singh, who works as a news anchor and producer with Hamdard Media TV, was forcibly taken away by three men around 7 pm on November 4 from outside his office in Shivalik Vihar, Nayagaon.
His sister, Manpreet Kaur, had told police that the three men dressed in nihang attire arrived in a Ritz car, called her brother outside his office and abducted him.
On her complaint, an FIR was lodged and multiple teams were constituted, said Mohali SSP Harmandeep Singh Hans while addressing a press conference.
“With the coordinated efforts of the Mohali police, AGTF and police units from Faridkot, Bathinda and Chandigarh, the victim was rescued, and one accused was arrested,” he said.
The accused was identified as Balkaran Jeet Singh, 45, a resident of Rekh Kalan village in Bathinda. He is unmarried and has studied up to Class 10. His two accomplices, Hardeep Singh and Jaskaran Singh, remain on the run.
Preliminary probe revealed that the journalist’s family had a property dispute, involving an unpaid amount of around ₹12 lakh. The family allegedly sought the help of the nihangs to recover their money and facilitate a settlement.
However, after the dispute was resolved, the nihangs reportedly demanded payment for their services. When the cheques issued during the settlement bounced and the family failed to pay, the accused kidnapped the journalist to recover their dues.
During interrogation, Balkaran Jeet confessed that the abduction was intended to pressure the family into paying the owed amount, said police.
Senior police officers, including SP (City) Dilpreet Singh, SP (Investigation) Saurav Jindal, DSP (City-1) Prithvi Singh Chahal and DSP (Investigation) Rajan Parminder, supervised the rescue operation. The ground teams were led by inspector Harminder Singh (CIA staff) and inspector Satnam Singh (Nawan SHO).
“The remaining accused will be arrested soon. No one has the right to take the law into their own hands,” said the SSP.
Raids are ongoing across several districts, and police have increased surveillance on religious premises where the absconding suspects might seek refuge.
