
CHANDIGARH: The Counter Intelligence Unit of Punjab Police in Amritsar arrested six members of the Kaushal Chaudhary Gang. The gang which is active in Haryana, Rajasthan, Punjab, includes two key shooters Puneet Lakhanpal and Narinder Kumar alias Lalli, who were involved in the murders of Kabaddi player Sandeep Singh Nangal Ambian and Sukhmeet Singh alias Deputy.
A possible target killing was averted after the incident and six foreign-made pistols and 40 rounds of ammunition were recovered.
Director General of Police, Punjab Gaurav Yadav said that the other four arrested members have been identified as Harpreet Singh alias Happal of Guru Har Sahai in Ferozepur, Gurbhinder Singh of Chattiwind Lehal in Amritsar, Sandeep Singh of Rajdhan village in Amritsar and Maninderjit Singh alias Shinda of Badowal Jhande in Ludhiana.
The police teams have also recovered six .30 bore foreign-made pistols along with 40 rounds from their possession.
Yadav said that the same gang was also involved in firing indiscriminately at the Highway King Hotel in Rajasthan and demanding an extortion of Rs 5 crores in September last year.
All the arrested persons have a criminal history and they have been evading arrests for the last three years, he added.
He said that preliminary investigation has revealed that the arrested persons are professional shooters of the organised criminal network of the Kaushal Chaudhary gang, which is active in Haryana, Rajasthan, Punjab, etc and they execute criminal activities on the directions of their foreign-based handlers.
Sharing operation details, Yadav said that on Sunday, a team from Counter Intelligence Amritsar received reliable input about members of the Kaushal Chaudhary Gang, including Amarjit Singh alias Amar, Jagjit Singh alias Gandhi, Balwinder Singh alias Doni, Prabhdeep Singh alias Prabh Dasuwal, and others, were orchestrating a targeted killing in the state by sitting abroad with the assistance of local operatives.
The information further elaborated that local members of the gang were reportedly roaming near Haveli restaurant in Jandiala Amritsar and were equipped with lethal weapons, he said, while adding that acting swiftly, police teams laid a special checkpoint and arrested six members of the gang and recovered six pistols and ammunition from their possession.
He said that further investigations are ongoing to uncover deeper links within their criminal network, which spans multiple states and involves illegal activities including extortion, arms smuggling, and organised violence.
In this regard, a case has been registered under sections 25, 25(1), 25(1) (d) and 25(8) of the Arms Act and sections 111 and 61(2) Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) Act at Police Station State Special Operations Cell (SSOC), Amritsar.