Hoshiarpur : A Punjab Police constable was shot dead on Sunday when a crime investigation team (CIA) team came under attack while conducting a raid at a village in Hoshiarpur district to nab a man suspected of harbouring illegal weapons.
The constable, identified as Amritpal Singh, 30, of Jandor village was hit by a bullet in the chest as the police team was entering a house, at Mansoorpur village in Mukerian sub-division.
“Three rounds were fired by the suspect, identified as Sukhwinder Singh, alias Rana, from inside the house of which one hit Amritpal in the chest. He was rushed to the Mukerian Civil Hospital but given the severity of his injuries, he was referred to a private hospital, where he died,” Hoshiarpur senior superintendent of police (SSP) Surendra Lamba said. The accused managed to flee from the spot, he said.
The police said they received secret information that Rana was in possession of illegal arms but as the CIA team raided his place, he opened fire.
The SSP said the accused has murder, attempt to murder and a decoity cases registered against him in Mukerian and had recently come out on bail.
{{/usCountry}}The SSP said the accused has murder, attempt to murder and a decoity cases registered against him in Mukerian and had recently come out on bail.
{{/usCountry}}“We are verifying if he was wanted in any other case in any other part of the state,” the SSP added.
A hunt has been launched to nab him, the SSP said, adding no recovery of weapons has been made so far.
Soon after the incident, a pal of gloom descended on Amritpal’s village. “He was an illustrious student and a brave cop. He was part of several police operations. We had never imagined that his career and life was to end this way,” said Sheetal Singh, a close associate of the family.
Another family member blamed the government for not being able to wipe out gangsters.
Amritpal got married about three years ago and was blessed with a baby a year-and-half back. His father retired from the army.
The body was handed over to the family after postmortem and cremation will take place on Monday.
Mukerian deputy superintendent of police (DSP) Vipin Kumar said a case under Section 302 (murder) of Indian Penal Code (IPC) and 25/54/59 of the Arms Act had been registered against the accused.