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Mohali RPG attack mastermind Lakhbir Singh Landa and Lakha Sidhana among 11 booked for extortion
Gangster-turned-politician Lakha Sidhana among those nominated in the FIR registered at Harike police station of Tarn Taran district a month ago; matter came to the light on Saturday
Gangster-turned-politician Lakha Sidhana and Canada-based gangster Lakhbir Singh alias Landa Harike, the most-wanted criminal in Punjab, were among the eleven persons booked for extorting money and smuggling drugs and arms from across the border.
The case, which was registered on September 2 at the Harike police station of Tarn Taran, came to the light on Saturday after some fans of Sidhana claimed on social media that he was nominated in a “fake” case by Punjab Police.
According to the first information report (FIR), the copy of which with HT, the accused have formed a gang, the mastermind of which is Landa, who is operating from Canada for the smuggling of arms, ammunition and drugs using drones from Pakistan.
The other nominated members of the alleged gang are Nachattar Singh, Satnam Singh, Gurkirat Singh, Anmol Soni, Charat Singh, Gurjant Singh, Mahavir Singh, Sukhdev Singh and Daljit Singh. All the accused are from various villages in Tarn Taran district.
The case was registered on the basis of a tip-off which was received by a team of Harike police. “Landa has been demanding money from big businessmen and rich people through his henchmen. These members threaten people by opening fire if they don’t pay up. They also threat to kill the family members of those from whom the money is sought. Satta and his associates have been sending the extortion money to Landa through Hawala channels,” the FIR reads.
It further says: “Landa further sends the extortion money to Pakistan for the smuggling of heroin and illegal weapons through drones.”
The case has been registered under Sections 386, 387, 388, 389 (extortion) and 120-B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), and various Sections of the Arms Act and the NDPS Act.
Police sources said some members of the gang are already in jail. A senior police official, who didn’t wish to be named, said, “Lakha was nominated for extorting money.”
Landa, a resident of Harike Pattan village in Tarn Taran district, has been a pain in the neck for the Punjab police for the past 11 years. A close aide of Pakistan-based gangster-turned-terrorist Harvinder Singh, alias Rinda, Landa fled to Canada in 2017 and joined hands with a pro-Khalaistan terror organisation Babbar Khalsa International (BKI).
The first case against Landa was for a murder bid and under the Arms Act at Harike Pattan in July 2011. He now faces 18 criminal cases, including of murder, attempt-to-murder and drugs smuggling, in Amritsar, Tarn Taran, Moga and Ferozepur districts. Punjab Police had registered the last case against Landa under kidnapping charges in Moga in May 2016 before he fled to Canada.
Landa was also key conspirator of the Rocket Propelled Grenade (RPG) attack at the Punjab Police intelligence headquarters in Mohali, besides planting an improvised explosive device (IED) under a sub-inspector’s car in Amritsar.
The development has also raised questions on the working of the police, which didn’t arrest Sidhana even after the passage of one month since the FIR was registered under severe charges.
