Shiv Sena leader orchestrated attack on himself, say Ludhiana police

Say that national promoter of Shiv Sena (Punjab) Mahant Kashmir Giri planned the attack on himself in March 2020 to get better security cover

The alleged murderous attack on national promoter of Shiv Sena (Punjab) Mahant Kashmir Giri in March 2020 was orchestrated by him to get better security cover, police said on Friday.

Mahant Kashmir Giri had claimed he was shot at by two men on a bike near his house at Khanna in March last year. (HT PHoto)

It was Giri’s son, Rajan Bawa, who had hired two men to act out the murder attempt by firing shots outside their house in Khanna, and also provided them training in handling the weapon. The revelations came following the arrest of Giri in an attempt to murder case registered on March 28, said Khanna senior superintendent of police (Khanna) Gursharandeep Singh Grewal.

The case was lodged against Giri, his two sons and their accomplices following a complaint by one Nikhil Sharma of Khanna. An FIR under Sections 307, 323, 324, 148, 149, 506 and 120-B of the Indian Penal Code, and Sections 25, 54 and 59 of the Arms Act is registered against them in this regard.

During questioning, the SSP said, Giri confessed that he had orchestrated the attack on himself to get more security. For this, his son, Rajan, had hired two men, Jaswinder Singh of Lakhpur village, Banga, and Gurinder Singh of Mukandpur village, Nawanshahr, to carry out the fake murder attempt.

On March 9, 2020, the two men arrived on a motorcycle and opened fire outside Giri’s house, following which he called the police.

“Giri had claimed that while walking to a nearby temple, he had noticed the shooters making rounds of his colony, due to which he had walked back home and bolted the gate from inside. The accused had fired twice and one bullet had hit the main gate of the house,” said the SSP, adding that the accused were captured in the CCTV cameras while escaping.

“They had a foolproof plan to make the attack appear real, which helped Giri get more security cover, while earlier he had only one gunman,” the police official added.

The police are investigating where the accused procured the gun and have launched a manhunt for Bawa and the two shooters.

In a similar case in March 2020, chairman of the labour wing of Shiv Sena (Hindustan), Narinder Bhardwaj, was arrested for concocting a story of assault on him. According to police, the 45-year-old was also eyeing more security cover.

Shooters were arrested in another case, got bail

Notably, the Samrala police had arrested Jaswinder and Gurinder, along with their two accomplices, for possessing illegal weapons on July 28, 2020. They were sent to jail on judicial remand and were later granted bail. However, the police had failed to find links of the accused with Kashmir Giri.