Two held with hand grenade, guns after shoot-out near Akshardham

Members of a gang linked to fugitive gangster Arshdeep Singh, known as Arsh Dalla, were arrested in Delhi with weapons and ammunition.

Two gangsters, suspected members of the group headed by fugitive gangster Arshdeep Singh aka Arsh Dalla, were arrested with a hand grenade, two guns and 13 cartridges by the special cell of Delhi Police following a shoot-out on the Noida-Akshardham Road in east Delhi’s Mayur Vihar area late Sunday night, police officers aware of the matter said on Monday.

At least 11 rounds were exchanged between the two gangsters and the special cell personnel (HT Photo)

One of the two gangsters was shot in his right leg during the gunfight with the police. He has been admitted to Lal Bahadur Shastri (LBS) hospital in east Delhi. Doctors said his condition was “out of danger”.

Based on the information provided by the two gangsters during questioning by special cell officers, a raid was conducted in Deri Skaner area in Greater Noida. Sachin Bhati, a suspected associate of the two gangsters, was arrested from there with various weapons, the officers said.

“Dalla had asked the two gangsters to kill Punjabi singer Elly Mangat.They made their first attemptin October 2023 at Bathinda, Punjab, but failed as the singer was not present at his home,” said special commissioner of police (special cell) HGS Dhaliwal.

At least 11 rounds were exchanged between the two gangsters and the special cell personnel, the officers said giving details of the shoot-out. Two police personnel involved in the operation were hit in their bulletproof vest while fighting the criminals, they added.

The gangsters were identified as Rajpreet Singh alias Raja,25, of Ferozepur, and Virender Singh alias Vimmy, 22, of Bathinda.One hand grenade, one revolver of .45 mm bore with six cartridges and a pistol of .30 bore with seven live bullets were found in the possession of the criminals, the officers said.

According to police, Rajpreet was involved in a murder and an attempt to murder case registered between 2017 and 2023 in Punjab and Vimmy was wanted in a case of firing over extortion demand outside a jewellery shop in Mandi, Punjab.

Special commissioner Dhaliwal said the special cell personnel on Sunday received information that two members of “international gangster-turned-terrorist”, Arsh Dalla, would be going towards Akshardham Temple on a motorcycle. Accordingly, a raiding team laid a trap on the road coming from Noida to Akshardham late Sunday night.

The special cell officers spotted the suspects on a motorcycle and started following the vehicle. The suspects were intercepted on the road opposite Samachar Apartments in Mayur Vihar,and signalled to stop and surrender. However, they took out their guns and opened fire at the police team, Dhaliwal said.

“They fired five bullets, and two of them hit two police personnel in their bulltetproof vest. Our team members fired six bullets in self-defence. During the exchange of fire, Vimmi suffered a gunshot to his right leg. Both suspects were overpowered and taken to the LBS hospital. Apart from the arms and ammunition, the two also had a hand grenade,” added Dhaliwal.

In January this year, Dhaliwal said, Rajpreet and his associates shot dead Paramjeet Singh, a resident of Jagraon village in Punjab’s Ludhiana district, on Dalla’s orders. He was also involved in the near-fatal attack on another person, police said. Rajpreet remained in jail for three years in the attempt to murder case.

Vimmy recently fired shots outside Prem Jewellery of Jalandhar’s Mandi village in Punjab. The firing was carried out on the directions of Arsh Dalla, as the businessman did not pay extortion money, the special cell officers said,

The officers said that this was the second operation of the Delhi Police’s unit against members of the Arsh Dalla gang. Last month, On October 12, a member of Dalla’s gang tried to launch a hand grenade on at least a dozen personnel of the special cell near Pragati Maidan tunnel.

The gangster, who was travelling with his associate on a bike, was later arrested by the police. Police said the two criminals were wanted in two murders in Punjab, including the last month’s killing of a Congress leader Baljinder Singh Balli in Moga district of the state.