CHANDIGARH: Punjab Police have arrested two key operatives of gangster-turned-terrorist Arsh Dalla in connection with the murder of Gurpreet Singh Hari Nau. The arrests have also led to the prevention of at least four potential target killings.
Additionally, the police have solved three other cases, including the murder of a convicted criminal who was out on parole in Madhya Pradesh.
The operation was jointly carried out by the State Special Operations Cell (SSOC) Mohali, the Anti-Gangster Task Force (AGTF), and the Faridkot District Police.
The development came less than a month after the arrest of three members of the recce module in this case. Senior Superintendent of Police of Faridkot, Dr. Pragya Jain, has identified the arrested persons as Anmolpreet Singh alias Vishal, a resident of Bhadorh in Barnala, and Navjot Singh alias Neetu, a resident of Nijjar Road in Kharar.
The police have also arrested their accomplice, identified as Balvir Singh alias Kalu, who is the brother of shooter Navjot Singh, for aiding and abetting the criminals. All the arrested persons have a criminal history.
The police teams have also recovered two sophisticated pistols, including one Zigana 9mm pistol with seven live cartridges and one .30 bore pistol with four live cartridges, along with Rs 27,500 and a fake Aadhar card being used to commit different crimes.
As per the information, Gurpreet Singh Hari Nau alias Bhodi was shot dead on October 9 while returning home from the village Gurudwara Sahib on his motorcycle.
SSP Dr Pragya Jain said that preliminary investigations have revealed that Arsh Dalla tasked Navjot alias Neetu with targeting Gurpreet Singh Hari Nau, who runs a YouTube channel under the name “Hari Nau Talks.”
Arsh Dalla shared the required information about Gurpreet Hari Nau with Navjot and asked him to rope in more associates to execute the task, she said, while adding that to accomplish the task, Navjot involved his associate Anmolpreet Singh alias Vishal.
She said that Arsh Dalla provided one Glock pistol along with ammunition and a motorcycle and ordered the killing of Gurpreet Singh Hari Nau.
Jain said that investigations have revealed that both the shooters were provided hideouts by Arsh Dalla. After the completion of the crime, the shooters were constantly on the move, changing several hideouts in various cities including Amritsar, SBS Nagar, the Himachal-Punjab border, Chandigarh, Mohali, and Kharar.
In between, Arsh Dalla provided both shooters with heroin and cash, which they retrieved mostly from public places in Mohali.
She said that investigations have also revealed that the accused killed Jaswant Singh Gill on Thursday in Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh, under the directions of Arsh Dalla.
The person killed was a convicted criminal serving a life sentence, out on a fifteen-day parole when he was murdered by the shooters. A case was registered at the Dabra police station in Madhya Pradesh.
Both suspects then returned to Punjab from Madhya Pradesh, where they were apprehended near Kharar in a joint operation by Faridkot Police, SSOC Mohali, and AGTF.
The accused were also involved in a firing and extortion incident at Zirakpur on October 18. In that incident, a businessman was threatened after shots were fired, and a poster with Arsh Dalla's name was placed at the main entrance.
Upon reviewing CCTV footage from a nearby house, it was found that two individuals arrived on a bike. The footage shows them firing shots and placing the poster. A case has been registered at Zirakpur Police Station in this regard.
During the investigation, police uncovered information about a wider conspiracy to target more individuals. Jain said that, with the arrests, at least four target killings of prominent people in major cities have been prevented.
A case had already been registered under sections 103(1), 126(2), and 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and section 25 of the Arms Act at Police Station Kotkapura.
