The Punjab Anti-Gangster Task Force (AGTF) on Friday arrested one of the two shooters involved in the sensational murder of Rakesh Kumar, alias Gaggi, in Himachal Pradesh’s Una district in July.
The arrested accused has been identified as Vipan Kumar, a resident of Bassi Muda, Baghpur Mandir in Hoshiarpur.
Police also recovered a .32-bore country made pistol, along with six live cartridges from his possession, said director general of police (DGP) Gaurav Yadav.
On July 27, Rakesh, aged 27, was shot dead by two unidentified assailants at a barber’s shop in Una’s Khwaja Basal village.
The DGP said preliminary investigation revealed that Gaggi’s murder was a direct consequence of gang rivalry between foreign-based gangsters Laddi Bhajal, alias Kooner, and Monu Gujjar of Ravi Balachauria gang with Babbi Rana of Sonu Khatri gang.
The deceased, Rakesh, was an associate of foreign-based gangster Babbi Rana, a close aide of Sonu Khatri, he said.
AGTF additional director general of police (ADGP) Promod Ban said acting on reliable inputs, police teams from AGTF, led by DSP Rajan Parminder, arrested the accused from near Khanpur village in Kharar.
{{/usCountry}}AGTF additional director general of police (ADGP) Promod Ban said acting on reliable inputs, police teams from AGTF, led by DSP Rajan Parminder, arrested the accused from near Khanpur village in Kharar.
{{/usCountry}}The ADGP said the arrested accused had a criminal background and apart from his involvement in Rakesh’s murder case, the accused was facing cases pertaining to attempt to murder, Arms Act and NDPS Act in Punjab and Himachal Pradesh.
A fresh FIR has been registered under Section 25 of the Arms Act at the City Kharar police station in Mohali.
Further investigations are underway to establish forward and backward linkages in this case.