Sikh activist was shot dead at Amritpal’s behest: Punjab DGP
Canada-based Karamveer Gora, gangster-terrorist Arshdeep Dala were handlers of shooters who killed Gurpreet
Chandigarh : Punjab Police on Friday said that Gurpreet Singh Hari Nau, alias Bhodi, a Kotkapura-based Sikh activist, was murdered at the behest of jailed Khadoor Sahib member of Parliament (MP) Amritpal Singh, who is lodged in Dibrugarh Jail of Assam under the stringent National Security Act (NSA).
The police also arrested three members of Arsh Dalla gang, who emerged as the mastermind, said Punjab director general of police (DGP) Gaurav Yadav.
Those arrested have been identified as Bilal Ahmed, alias Fauji, Guramardeep Singh, alias Pontu, and Arshdeep Singh, alias Jhandu, he said.
Police have also named Amritpal in the FIR registered on 10 October, 2024, under Sections 103 (1), 126 (2) and 3 (5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and Section 25 of the Arms Act at the Kotkapura police station.
Gurpreet was shot dead on October 9 while returning home from the village gurdwara on his motorcycle.
Addressing a press conference, the DGP said: “During investigations, evidence has come on record indicating the role of Amritpal Singh of Waris Punjab De in the murder conspiracy. As per some statements recorded in the investigation, the murder was carried out at the behest of Amritpal,” he said.
The DGP said investigations have revealed that the murder of Gurpreet Singh was masterminded from abroad by Arsh Dalla and other persons.
Different modules have been used for conducting reccee and executing the murder, he said adding that the criminals have used cut outs to mask the conspiracy.
“The three arrested persons constituted part of the reccee module, being handled by Canada-based Karamveer Singh, alias Gora. The reccee module passed on crucial information to the shooter module through their handlers and cut outs,” he said.
The DGP said the members of the shooter module have been identified and police teams are on manhunt to nab them.
“Gurpreet was a close associate of Waris Punjab De original founder Deep Sidhu and had joined hands with Amritpal after he took over as its chief. However, Gurpreet parted ways and used to criticise Amritpal on social media,” said Yadav.
“The police would investigate the case on basis of evidence in a professional manner. All angles and theories of crime would be examined threadbare and investigated in accordance with law, he said, while adding that the criminal liability of all persons figuring in the investigations would be determined in accordance with the evidence available as per law.
Sharing operation details, the DGP said that acting swiftly, a special investigation team (SIT) comprising police officials from the Faridkot district and state special operations cell was constituted and separate teams assigned the tasks of visiting the scene of crime and collecting physical and digital evidences.
He said that the CCTV footage at the scene of crime was scanned and teams were deputed to follow the forward and backward linkages of CCTVs to determine the entry and exit routes of the assailants. Meticulous investigations by the Faridkot district police led to analysis of CCTV footage along a 125-km stretch, which helped the police in establishing the suspects’ movements and develop lead, he said.
He said that mobile tower dumps at strategic places were obtained and analysed through big data analysis tools. At the same time, human intelligence was also obtained and developed. Contact was established with persons based abroad as well to glean intelligence, the DGP said.
During investigations, information relating to wider conspiracy to target more individuals has also been received and is being probed, said Yadav.