A notorious drugs and arms smuggler, identified as Gurlal Singh of Dhanoe Khurd village situated along the India-Pakistan border in Amritsar, was arrested after an encounter with Punjab Police on the Amritsar-Jalandhar highway near Manawala village on Wednesday night, police officials said.
Police said the accused was driving a brand new Thar SUV and was nabbed after a chase when he broke a naka at T-Point at Sukhewal village. The accused had also opened fire at the chasing police team, but no policemen were hurt.
Senior superintendent of police (SSP-rural) Satinder Singh said the in charge of the special cell of Amritsar rural district got a tip-off Gurlal was coming from the Tarn Taran side and was carrying illegal weapons and drugs.
“A naka was set up at Sukhewal T-Point. When the Thar SUV was indicated to stop, the driver ignored the warning and fled towards the Amritsar side by breaking the barricading. The accused also opened fire at the police team. The police team at the naka point chased him to Manawala village and he was arrested,” the SSP said.
The SSP said with the arrest of the accused, they have recovered 1kg of heroin, a .30 bore Chinese pistol and five live rounds. He said a case under Sections 307 (attempted murder), 353 (assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty), 186 (obstructing public servant) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), Sections 25 (2)-54-59 of the Arms Act and Sections 21-61-85 of the NDPS Act against the accused at Chatiwind police station.
{{/usCountry}}The SSP said with the arrest of the accused, they have recovered 1kg of heroin, a .30 bore Chinese pistol and five live rounds. He said a case under Sections 307 (attempted murder), 353 (assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty), 186 (obstructing public servant) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), Sections 25 (2)-54-59 of the Arms Act and Sections 21-61-85 of the NDPS Act against the accused at Chatiwind police station.
{{/usCountry}}Police sources said Gurlal is a notorious smuggler and has been in contact with several Pakistani smugglers for the last around 10 years. He has been facing several criminal cases, including of smuggling of drugs and weapons from Pakistan.
The SSP said their investigation to ascertain the criminal background of the accused was still on.