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Three Bhuppi Rana aides nabbed after shootout in Zirakpur
Gunshots were exchanged between the police and gangsters after the latter opened fire outside Hotel Relax Inn in Baltana, Zirakpur
District police and the anti-gangster task force arrested three members of the Bhuppi Rana gang after a shootout outside Hotel Relax Inn in Baltana, Zirakpur, on Sunday night.
Gunshots were exchanged between the police and gangsters after the latter opened fire. One of the three men arrested, Ranvir of Barwala, Haryana, sustained a gunshot wound in the leg. The other accused were identified as Ashish Rana and Vishal.
Senior superintendent of police (SSP) Vivek Sheel Soni said, “Police were probing an extortion case registered in Baltana and went to the area on Sunday after a tip-off that the gangsters had come to extort money from a hotelier. On spotting the police, the gangsters opened fire, leading to exchange of fire in which one of the gangsters was shot in the leg.”
The group was operating under the instructions of Ankit Rana, a close aide of Bhuppi Rana, and had assembled near the Tau Devilal Stadium in Panchkula before reaching Baltana, said police.
Ropar Range deputy inspector general of police (DIG) Gurpreet Singh Bhullar, while addressing the media, said the incident happened around 10 pm, adding that sub-inspector Rahul Kumar was injured as one of the accused hit his head with the butt of a pistol. He confirmed that both the sub-inspector and the injured gang member were stable.
He added that another policeman was hit with a bullet in the chest, but escaped unhurt as he was wearing a bullet-proof vest.
“We also recovered two pistols, a .30 bore and a .32 bore, along with 10 live cartridges. Besides 10 shells of bullets fired by the gangsters were also recovered from the spot,” the DIG said.
Police are verifying the count of the gangsters present on the spot as two are suspected to have fled. Before the cross-fire, police had managed to cordon off the hotel premises. The operation was led by Zirakpur deputy superintendent of police (DSP) Bikramjit Singh Brar.
