The Amritsar police on Saturday arrested the prime accused in the double firing incident in Kot Khalsa that left three persons injured.
The arrest was made after a brief encounter, during which the police recovered a sophisticated foreign-made pistol from the accused.
The incident, which occurred about a week ago, had created panic in the locality. Acting on specific inputs and through coordinated efforts, the police traced the prime accused, Chandan Sharma, and arrested him after he opened fire on a police party while attempting to evade arrest.
Police Commissioner Gurpreet Singh Bhullar said the first incident took place on December 13, when complainant Birkam Sharma, a resident of Kot Khalsa, had gone to attend a religious programme at a friend’s residence in New Adarsh Nagar. He noticed Gulshan Kumar and his wife allegedly assaulting an elderly man, Rameshwar, in the street. When Birkam Sharma intervened to stop the quarrel, two young men arrived at the spot.
One of them, identified as Chandan Sharma, a resident of Adarsh Nagar in Kot Khalsa, was armed with a pistol. Objecting to the complainant’s intervention, Chandan allegedly fired at him with the intention to kill. The bullet passed through the complainant’s left thigh and struck his right thigh, causing serious injuries. The police registered a case in the matter and arrested Gulshan Kumar, while Chandan fled the scene.
The following day, while absconding and evading arrest, Chandan Sharma allegedly opened fire again, injuring Billu, a resident of the Guru Nanakpura locality. The bullet grazed Billu’s right arm and entered the right side of his abdomen. A woman, Sonia, a resident of Kot Khalsa, was also injured in the incident. A separate FIR for attempt to murder was registered against Chandan at the Islamabad police station.
On December 20, the police received specific information regarding the movement of the accused in the Kot Khalsa area. Acting on the tip-off, a police party proceeded towards the Borhi Sahib-Thande village road. On spotting the police, Chandan attempted to flee towards nearby fields and opened fire at the police party in an attempt to escape.
“In retaliation and self-defence, senior constable Kinderbir Singh fired at the accused, hitting him in the leg,” said the Police Commissioner. The injured accused was immediately taken to hospital for medical treatment under police custody. A third FIR was registered against him in connection with the encounter.
During the arrest, the police recovered a Turkish-made Zigana 9mm pistol, which is banned in India.
Chandan Sharma had earlier been booked by the Anti-Narcotics Task Force in September last year in connection with the seizure of drugs and arms, including 1 kg of heroin and 381 grams of charas. He had been released on bail in May this year.