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Punjab: 5 aides of Bambiha-Kaushal gang arrested with 9 weapons
Cops also nominate MP Amritpal’s associate for helping the accused procure arms and ammunition. Two separate cases have been registered under Section 25 of the Arms Act at New Baradari in Jalandhar and Bhargo Camp police stations in Jalandhar.
The Jalandhar police on Sunday claimed to have thwarted three possible target killings with the arrest of five operatives of the Bambiha-Kaushal gang on Sunday.
Punjab director general of police (DGP) Gaurav Yadav said nine sophisticated weapons and 15 live cartridges being smuggled from Madhya Pradesh were recovered from the accused possession.
Police have registered two separate cases under Section 25 of the Arms Act at New Baradari in Jalandhar and Bhargo Camp police stations in Jalandhar.
“The arrested have been identified as Jaspreet Singh alias Jassa of Boparai Kalan village in Jalandhar, Harshdeep Singh of Garage Mehdood village in Hoshiarpur, Shekhar of Muradpur village in Tarn Taran, Gagandeep Singh alias Ginni Bajwa of New Model House in Jalandhar and Amit Sahota of Bambian Wal village in Jalandhar,” the DGP said.
Gurbhej Singh, a close aide of Khadoor Sahib MP Amritpal Singh, has also been nominated in the case for assisting the accused in identifying their targets and helping them source weapons and ammunition. Gurbhej, who was Amritpal’s private security guard before his arrest, is presently behind bars in Kapurthala jail. At the same time, Amritpal is lodged in Dibrugarh jail in Assam under the National Security Act (NSA).
Police teams recovered nine weapons— including eight pistols and one revolver— along with 15 live cartridges from their possession.
The DGP said that the arrested accused were involved in multiple offences, including extortion, murder and arms trafficking across several districts of Punjab. “Several cases have already been registered against these accused persons”, he added.
The DGP said that further investigations are going on to uncover their broader network and establish both backward and forward linkages to dismantle the gang completely.
Sharing operation details, Jalandhar commissioner of police Swapan Sharma said following a tip-off that members of the Bambiha-Kaushal gang were planning a major criminal activity in the state, police teams laid a naka at BSF Chowk and arrested three accused including Jaspreet Jassa, Harshdeep and Shekhar and recovered six weapons from their possession.
He said that later, two more operatives of the gang identified as Gagandeep Ginni and Amit Sahota were arrested from a naka near Bhargo Camp and three weapons recovered from their possession.
“In this preliminary investigation, it came to the fore that the accused were hatching the conspiracy to eliminate three members of their rival gang. All those who were on target have been identified. Another fact that has been established in the course of the investigation is that they were provided logistical assistance by Amritpal’s close aide Gurbhej Singh. He was in close contact with the accused,” Sharma said.
He added that the police will bring Gurbhej on a production warrant from Kapurthala jail for further investigation into the matter.
