3 arrested for killing PPP supporter

Saturday, 18/05/2013

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2013/20130518/punjab.htm#1

Bathinda : The police today claimed to have identified eight of the accused, three of them have been arrested, involved in yesterday’s firing at a Congress-People’s Party of Punjab (PPP) rally in Adampura. The incident had left a PPP supporter dead.

Speaking to mediapersons here, Inspector General (Bathinda zone) Nirmal Singh Dhillon said none of the accused belonged to the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), as alleged by the Congress and PPP leaders.

The police said PPP leader Lakha Sidhana, who survived with injuries, was the target. It said the conspiracy was hatched in the District Jail here allegedly by Gurtej Singh Nambardar, already behind bars for attacking Lakha once earlier.

Gurtej used to be a member of Lakha’s gang, but had parted ways with him over some issue. Among those arrested are Karamjit Singh alias Kamma of Mehraj village, Jaswant Singh of Sidhana village and Gurtej Singh, who was arrested after obtaining a production warrant from a local court. Kamma and Jaswant were nabbed from Mansa district.

Insisting the attack on Lakha was out of personal enmity, Dhillon said a few of the accused were “staunch Congress supporters”. He said the mastermind had specially chosen an election rally for the attack to avoid suspicion.

The other assailants had been identified as Jagseer Singh alias Seera, Dhimri (Seera’s brother), Ranjodh Singh alias Jodha, Tirath Dhilwan and Gurjeet Singh.

Dhillon said the police had gathered enough evidence against Gurtej Singh in form of call details as he was illegally using a mobile phone from inside the jail. He said a separate investigation was being conducted into the matter.

The police officer said a special investigation team led by Deputy Inspector General AS Chahal and Senior Superintendent of Police Ravcharan Singh Brar had cracked the case within 24 hours.

On the allegations levelled by PPP president Manpreet Badal that Akali workers were behind the firing, Brar said he (Manpreet) had concluded the investigation even before the police could start it.

Dhillon also refuted the allegations that the police was a puppet in the hands of SAD leaders. “The police is not a tool in anybody’s hands. Though Lakha has several cases pending against him, he is an aggrieved party in this case and justice will be delivered to him,” he said.

The Inspector General said the attack was an episode of a gang war between the Lakha and Seera groups.