New Delhi: Police gunned down one of the three youths who allegedly killed a Punjab Police assistant sub-inspector (ASI) and a home guard jawan.
The youth, identified as Ranjit Singh (19), was shot dead during an encounter near Puranashala village, about 8km from Gurdaspur on the Gurdaspur-Mukerian road near Tibri cantonment.
Ranjit Singh was a resident of border village Adhian, where the ASI and home guard were killed on February 22. The two other accused are Dilawar Singh (19) of Ali Nangal village and Inderjit Singh (21), also a resident of Adhian. Dilawar Singh has been arrested while Inderjit Singh continues to be at large.
What happened
It was on Sunday that bodies of ASI Gurnam Singh and home guard jawan Ashok Kumar were found with gunshot injuries inside a police checkpost in Adhian village. The village is located around 2km from the Pakistan border. Security was beefed up in the border district following the killings.
What did the police say
In Gurdaspur, deputy inspector general of police (border range) Sandeep Goel told media persons said Dilawar Singh and Ranjit Singh had been arrested in connection with the killings. The police said they had found that the youths were in contact with Pakistan-based and ISI-backed handlers to kill the cops.
Goel said that Ranjit Singh confessed to the police that he had hidden the weapon used in the crime at a place which comes under the Behrampur police station jurisdiction.
As a police team was taking him to recover the weapon, the police vehicle turned turtle near Galrhi village due to fog. Ranjit Singh escaped taking advantage of the situation, Goel said.
After this, the police sounded a red alert in the area. The DIG added that a police team around 3am flagged a motorcycle near Purana Shala area on the Gurdaspur-Mukerian road, but the rider tried to flee and opened fire at the officers. The police shot back. The rider was identified as Ranjit Singh, who later died at the civil hospital, the DIG said.
CIA in-charge inspector Gurmeet Singh also received injuries in the firing. Another cop narrowly escaped as he was wearing a bulletproof jacket.
Goel reportedly said: “They (the three youths) were assigned the task of killing Punjab Police personnel. Before executing the crime, they conducted a recce of the area.”
Police said the three youths executed the killings for money. They claimed Dilawar Singh was assured a sum of Rs 20,000 but had received only Rs 3,000. The entire deal with Pakistan-based handlers reportedly amounted to lakhs of rupees.
The Counter Intelligence (CI) Punjab and the Gurdaspur police launched a joint operation and solved the case within 72 hours. A key role was played by the technical surveillance teams.
Police teams have been fanned out to arrest Inderjit Singh. He has already been booked in three cases under the NDPS Act.
Reacting to claims of responsibility allegedly made by Pakistan-based Shahzad Bhatti, the DIG said the probe is still in progress and that more details would emerge after a full verification.
Family cries foul
Ranjit Singh’s family has accused the police of killing the 19-year-old in a “fake encounter” after he was arrested in connection with the killing of two cops at a checkpost in Adhian.
Ranjit Singh was a BA student at a college in Gurdaspur. His family alleged that he was picked up from his house on Tuesday evening for questioning. They said the cops ransacked their home and questioned him before taking him with them.
The family said they came to know about Ranjit’s death the next morning through media reports which stated that he had been gunned down in an encounter during a recovery operation. Ranjit’s father is currently doing a job in Saudi Arabia, and relatives said he was the only son of the family.
Senior Shiromani Akali Dal leader Bikram Singh Majithia has called for a CBI investigation into the entire incident.