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Two accused linked to US-based gangster held with 90 live cartridges
A team from the CIA staff of Mohali police arrested two accused linked with US-based gangster Gopi Nawanshehria gang uncovering a target killing module, officials said.
A team from the CIA staff of Mohali Police arrested two accused linked with US-based gangster Gopi Nawanshehria gang uncovering a target killing module, officials said.
The police also recovered 90 live 9mm cartridges from the accused. The suspects were presented in court and sent to police remand.
The accused have been identified as Mohit Kumar, a resident of Sultanpur Lodhi in Kapurthala district, who was living in a PG in Kharar, and Maninder Singh, also known as Bobby, from village Ali Chakk in Jalandhar, police said.
The primary accused in the case has been identified as Maninder Singh, who recruited Mohit Kumar. Both are linked to UK-based gangster Harjeet Bhandal, who is the kingpin and key associate of gangster Gopi Nawanshehria. Both accused were part of their network, they had identified certain targets and intended to use the recovered ammunition for targeted killings, police added.
Gangster Nawanshehria is also nominated and wanted in a murder case of Rattandeep Singh, a former chief of militant outfit Bhindranwale Tiger Force of Khalistan (BTFK), who was shot dead in Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar (formerly Nawanshahr) district in April 2024.
Mohali senior superintendent of police Sandeep Kumar Garg said, “With the arrest of these accused the police have prevented the planned target killings in Sultanpur Lodhi. The intended targets were from the Jalandhar and Kapurthala areas and were motivated by personal enmity.”
After initial interrogation, the accused Mohit told the police that the ammunition had been left by an unknown person in an open area near the roadside on Landran-Sirhind Road. “He collected it from there and stored it at his place on Bobby’s instructions. Additionally, two weapons were also sent along with the ammunition and kept at some other location, but the Amritsar police have already recovered them,” a police official added, pleading anonymity.
“Acting upon a tip-off, the team of Mohali police on July 28 arrested Mohit from LIC Colony in Kharar and registered a case under Section 25 of the Arms Act at Kharar city police station. His interrogation led to the arrest of Maninder,” the police added.
According to police, both accused have criminal backgrounds. Bobby has nine FIRs reissued against him, including extortion, attempted murder, and violations of the Arms Act. The identity of the person who supplied the weapons and ammunition has not yet been revealed.
The police have registered a case under Sections 25, 54, 59 of the Arms Act at Kharar police station.
