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Nakodar Double Murder: Three shooters arrested, US-based Amandeep identified as mastermind
CHANDIGARH: Punjab Police on Wednesday claimed to have successfully solved the double murder case of a Nakodar-based cloth merchant and his personal security officer (PSO) Mandeep Singh on December 7 and arrested three shooters masterminded by US-based Amandeep Purewala alias Aman a Nakodar resident
CHANDIGARH: Punjab Police on Wednesday claimed to have successfully solved the double murder case of a Nakodar-based cloth merchant and his personal security officer (PSO) Mandeep Singh on December 7 and arrested three shooters masterminded by US-based Amandeep Purewala alias Aman a Nakodar resident.
Giving details in a press conference, Punjab Director General of Police (DGP) Gaurav Yadav said those arrested have been identified as Khushkaran Singh alias Fauji of village Nangla in Talwandi Sabo, Bathinda; Kamaldeep Singh alias Deep of Vehan Diwan in Bathinda; and Manga Singh alias Geeta alias Bicchu of village Jassi Poh Wali in Bathinda.
The police teams have also recovered one .30 bore pistol used in the crime and an SUV used to conduct recce from the possession of arrested persons.
On December 7, 2022, at about 8.30 pm, five unknown persons shot dead cloth merchant Bhupinder Singh alias Timmy Chawla, while his PSO constable Mandeep Singh, who also received bullet injuries, succumbed to the injuries later at Capitol Hospital in Jalandhar.
Notably, on November 3, 2022, Jalandhar Rural Police on the complaint of Chawla, who stated that he received threat calls for extortion of ₹30 lakh, had registered a First Information Report (FIR) under sections 387 and 506 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) at Police Station in Nakodar City and two security personnel were immediately provided to the protectee.
The DGP said that police have also identified the two main conspirators as Amrik Singh of Bathinda and Gurinder Singh alias Ginda of Malri in Nakodar, who conducted recce and arranged shooters and weapons on directions of Purewala. The remaining two shooters have been identified as Satpal alias Sajan and Thakur. “Police teams are on a manhunt to arrest the absconding shooters and both conspirators,” he said.
Mastermind was looking to float his own gang
The DGP, while ruling out the association of Amandeep Purewala with any other gang or gangsters, said the mastermind, in a bid to float his new gang, and create terror in the border state, had made Chawla his first target. He made extortion calls to him while in the US. “Later, Purewala along with Amrik Singh and Gurinder Ginda hatched a conspiracy to eliminate Chawla and arranged five shooters, who opened fire at the victim and his PSO in the evening of December 7,” he said.
Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Jalandhar Rural Swarandeep Singh said the district police acted swiftly by constituting separate teams to work on different angles, some inmates were brought on production warrants from various jails for questioning. The technical investigation was conducted by analysing CCTV footage and data from mobile service providers, which revealed some important clues which were further developed and led to the arrest of the accused. The perpetrators have no previous police record. “Further investigation and searches are being conducted to apprehend the remaining accused shooters and conspirators who provided logistics,” he added.
