CHANDIGARH: Seven accused have been arrested so far in the murder of AAP sarpanch Jarmal Singh from Valtoha.
Punjab Police, in a joint operation with Chhattisgarh Police, arrested the two main shooters from Raipur.
After shooting the victim point-blank in the head from behind, the shooters fled the scene and travelled to Patna, then Nanded in Maharashtra, before finally reaching Raipur.
The shootout was carried out on the directions of foreign-based gangster Prabh Dasuwal, who claimed he had “personal enmity” with Singh and alleged that the victim had survived three earlier assassination attempts.
Punjab Director General of Police Gaurav Yadav said the accused have been identified as Sukhraj Singh alias Gunga (20) of Thakkarpura village; Jobanpreet Singh (19) of village Bhai Ladhu; and Harpreet Singh alias Happy (27) of Bahadur Nagar village in Tarn Taran district. Another accused is Karamjeet Singh (23) of village Passanwal in Gurdaspur.
The other accused are identified as Jobanpreet Singh (20), Kulwinder Singh alias Kinda (20) and Armandeep Singh (18), all residents of Kalsian Kalan village in Tarn Taran.
He further said that Sukhraj Singh has a prior criminal history involving theft and Arms Act cases, and was also involved in the Rajwinder Singh alias Raj sarpanch murder case.
“The two were produced before a court in Raipur and taken into custody after obtaining transit remand. They are being brought to Amritsar for further investigation. The other five arrested accused, who were part of the support and logistical module, were arrested from Punjab,” he said.
Yadav said investigations have established gangster Prabh Dasuwal as the mastermind behind the murder, which was carried out due to old enmity with the deceased former sarpanch. He said the accused had even fired at the victim earlier, clearly indicating a pre-planned and well-orchestrated conspiracy.
He added that the case was taken up on the highest priority, and multiple specialised teams were constituted to investigate the murder.
“The investigation, aided by a combination of technical surveillance and precise human intelligence, enabled police teams to identify both shooters Sukhraj Singh and Karamjeet Singh,” he said.
Yadav said sustained inter state coordination, intelligence led tracking and close cooperation with Central agencies and Chhattisgarh Police led to the arrest of both the shooters.
“Both accused were deliberately changing locations across multiple states including Maharashtra, Delhi, Bihar, Punjab and Chhattisgarh and were using forged Aadhaar cards to conceal their identity and evade police detection,” he said.
Yadav said another police team, with assistance from SSOC Mohali, arrested two more accused, both named Jobanpreet Singh, from Mohali. He said Harpreet Singh alias Happy was arrested from Valtoha, while Kulwinder Singh alias Kinda and Armandeep Singh were arrested from the Bhikhiwind area of Tarn Taran.
He added that investigations revealed these five accused played a crucial role in the conspiracy by providing logistics, shelter, weapons and a motorcycle to the shooters.
The probe has further revealed that the shooters and the accused providing logistical support did not know each other and were acting independently, solely on the instructions of Prabh Dasuwal.
Referring to the larger crackdown on crime, Yadav said that after the success of the “Yudh Nashian Virudh” anti-drug campaign, the Punjab Government is set to launch a decisive campaign against organised crime, with a focus on extraditing criminals sitting abroad.
“Whosoever is committing violence or involved in shooting in Punjab,the Police will nab the miscreant from any nook, in or outside the country,” he said, reiterating the government’s commitment to eradicate organised crime from the state.
Jharmal Singh, sarpanch of Valthoa village in Tarn Taran, was shot dead at a wedding at point-blank range on January 4. CCTV footage showed two shooters walking into the venue, with one of them pulling out a gun and firing at Singh’s head before fleeing the spot. Singh was rushed to a hospital, but he succumbed to his injuries.
Soon after the incident, the AAP government drew flak from the opposition over alleged deteriorating law and order in Punjab, with the BJP demanding Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann's resignation.
One of the key conspirators, Harnoor Singh alias Noor, was killed in a police encounter in Tarn Taran shortly after the murder.