Punjab police arrest 5 members of Lawrence Bishnoi gang; arms seized
Fatehgarh Sahib SSP Ravjot Kaur said eight weapons -- five 0.32 bore countrymade pistols and three 0.315 bore countrymade pistols, along with 30 cartridges, were recovered from these gangsters, who are members of Lawrence Bishnoi gang
: Punjab Police on Monday said it has arrested five members belonging to the gang of Lawrence Bishnoi, the alleged mastermind behind singer Sidhu Moosewala’s murder.
Acting on a tip off, teams from Fatehgarh Sahib district busted the interstate gang operating in Punjab, deputy inspector general (DIG), anti-gangster task force and Rupnagar range, Gurpreet Singh Bhullar said.
Sandeep Sandhu, a resident of Patiala, is the kingpin of this gang, the DIG said. He is already facing charges of murder and attempt to murder among others in various police stations of Patiala and Fatehgarh Sahib districts, Bhullar said.
Sandhu is an associate of gangster Gurpreet Singh alias Guri, who is lodged in Patiala jail. Both are active members of the Lawrence Bishnoi gang, Bhullar said. Sandhu used to procure weapons from an Uttar Pradesh-based supplier and he is being tracked, the DIG said.
The others arrested are Harpreet Singh, Sandeep Singh, Charanjit Singh and Gurmukh Singh. Besides Uttar Pradesh, the gang members also used to buy weapons from Madhya Pradesh, police said, adding all links are being traced.
Fatehgarh Sahib senior superintendent of police (SSP) Ravjot Kaur said eight weapons --five 0.32 bore countrymade pistols and three 0.315 bore countrymade pistols, along with 30 cartridges, were recovered from these gangsters. Besides other crimes, the five men used to make extortion calls. They were also planning to undertake some major criminal activities in the state, the SSP said.
Over 2,200 drug smugglers arrested in one month
Over 2,200 drug smugglers were arrested while 30 kg of heroin and other narcotics were seized in Punjab in the last one month as part of an ongoing anti-drug drive in the state, a senior official of the Punjab police said on Monday.
Since July 5, police registered a total of 1,730 first information reports (FIRs) of which 145 are related to commercial quantity, inspector general of police (Headquarters) Sukhchain Singh Gill said.
Police also seized cash worth ₹ 48.95 lakh from the smugglers arrested during this period.
In addition to this, police also arrested 99 proclaimed offenders and absconders wanted in drug cases in the last one month, said Gill.
Gill said police recovered 30 kg of heroin, 75 kg of opium, 69 kg of ganja, and 185 quintals of poppy husk, besides seizing 12.56 lakhs tablets, capsules, injections and vials of pharma opioids from across the state.
Police have been carrying out cordon and search operations in drug-affected areas, besides laying ‘nakas’ at vulnerable routes across the state.
As director general of police (DGP) Punjab Gaurav Yadav has already given clear instructions to not tolerate any black sheeps in uniform, the IGP said action against six such police personnel, including one deputy superintendent of police, has been taken after they were found indulging in malpractices.
Gill said the weekly performance of all the police districts is being reviewed and the three topmost districts will be selected on the basis of recovery of drugs and drug money, cases registered, arrests of drug smugglers and absconders.
The top three districts will then be rewarded by the chief minister, he said. ENDS