Wanted in six cases, aide of gangster Bhupi Rana held in Mohali

Mohali police also recovered a . 32-calibre pistol and five cartridges from the possession of the gangster, Rohit Kumar, alias Simtu, alias Mota Khareen, 28, a resident of Parwanoo, Himachal Pradesh

Wanted in as many as six extortion cases in Punjab and Himachal Pradesh, an associate of gangster Bhupi Rana gang was arrested by the Zirakpur police on Saturday.

The accused, according to the Mohali police, was wanted since the July 2022 encounter outside a hotel in Baltana, Zirakpur. (iStock)

Police also recovered a . 32-calibre pistol and five cartridges from the possession of the gangster, Rohit Kumar, alias Simtu, alias Mota Khareen, 28, a resident of Parwanoo, Himachal Pradesh.

Rohit, according to the police, was wanted since the July 2022 encounter outside a hotel in Baltana, Zirakpur.

Following the shootout, police had arrested three accomplices of Bhupi who had been extorting up to ₹50,000 every month from local hoteliers. However, chief architects of the extortion racket — Ankit Rana and Rohit — had managed to flee.

In the shootout, one of the three arrested gangsters had suffered a gunshot wound on the leg and two Punjab Police officials had also sustained injuries.

Mohali senior superintendent of police Sandeep Garg said Ankit was arrested in December 2022, along with arms and ammunition, and acting on a tip-off, police arrested Rohit from Parwanoo, Himachal Pradesh, on Saturday. Further investigation is in process.

A sharpshooter, Ankit is a cousin of gangster Bhupi, who is lodged in Patiala jail and was the main conspirator in the August 2021 murder of Youth Akali Dal leader Vikramjit Singh Middukhera in Mohali.

Another senior police official said Rohit, along with his gang members, used to extort ₹40,000 every month from 12 hotels in Zirakpur and Panchkula.