Amidst the ongoing drive to make Punjab a crime-free state launched on the directions of Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann, Punjab Police have solved the blind murder case of a Scrap dealer in Baltana with the arrest of a prime accused after a brief encounter took place backside of Hotel Clarks Inn in Baltana, said Director General of Police (DGP) Punjab Gaurav Yadav here on Friday.
The arrested accused has been identified as Gaganvir Singh alias Rajan, a resident of Burail in Chandigarh. Police teams have also recovered one China-made .32 bore pistol along with five live cartridges and two empty bullet shells from his possession. As per the information, a firing incident took place at a Scrap Shop in Baltana on the intervening night of Monday and Tuesday, wherein three people sustained injuries and one of the victims Santosh Kumar later succumbed to his injuries.
DGP Gaurav Yadav said that following the incident, a special team was constituted to track down the accused and the team had identified Gaganvir Rajan as one of the prime accused in this case. Acting on the tip-off about the accused person hiding at a location near Sukhna Canal in Baltana, a police team under the supervision of DSP Zirakpur Bikramjit Singh Brar followed the trail and managed to locate them at the back side of the Hotel Clarks Inn, where one of the accomplices of accused Gaganvir started firing at the police party, he said, while adding that the Police fired back in self-defence.
The DGP said that accused Rajan sustained a bullet injury in his leg during retaliatory fire, while his two accomplices managed to escape from the spot. Accused Rajan has been arrested and has been admitted to the hospital for medical treatment, he added. SSP Mohali Sandeep Garg said that the accused Gaganvir Rajan has a criminal history and was also wanted in Haryana and Chandigarh.
Further investigations are on and raids are being conducted to nab absconding accused persons, he added. Initially, a case FIR no 301 dated 13-10-2023 was registered under sections 307, 353, 186 and 34 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and section 25 of the Arms Act at Police Station Zirakpur and later, section 302 of the IPC was added after a victim died.