Chandigarh, Aug 9 (IANS) In a major breakthrough in the killing of Shaurya Chakra awardee Balwinder Singh Sandhu in 2020, Punjab Police on Tuesday arrested key accused Gurwinder Singh, a.k.a. Baba, from Tarn Taran.
His two aides -- Sandeep Singh and Gurpreet Singh -- were also arrested, They were allegedly involved in cross-border smuggling of narcotics and weapons.
The police have also recovered one hand-grenade, one RDX-IED, two .30 bore pistols, besides magazines and 13 cartridges, 635 gm heroin, 100 gm opium, Rs 36.90 lakh drug money, and one Mitsubishi Lancer car from their possession.
Director General of Police (DGP) Gaurav Yadav said accused Gurwinder Singh, who was wanted by the National Investigation Agency (NIA), had played a key role in the killing of Sandhu by providing weapons to shooters.
A probe revealed that Gurwinder is a close associate of gangsters Sukhpreet Singh and Sukhmeetpal Singh.
Preliminary investigations indicated that the recovered explosives and arms and ammunition were to be used to disrupt peace and harmony and create a sense of terror in the state on or before Independence Day, said the DGP.
Inspector General of Police (Ferozepur Range) Jaskaran Singh said following inputs that Gurwinder Baba with his aide Sandeep was on the way to Khadoor Sahib, the Tarn Taran police had intercepted their car and managed to arrest them.
SSP Ranjit Singh Dhillon said the arrests are likely to lead to disclosures of cross-border smuggling modules.
Two motorcycle-borne assailants shot dead Shaurya Chakra awardee Sandhu at his residence in Bhikhiwind in the border district of Tarn Taran in October 2020.
The victims, both from West Bengal, were rushed to the SMHS hospital in Srinagar, where the condition of one is stated to be critical while the other is stable.
A case in this connection was registered against Ranjit Gogoi, the then Director of Information and Public Relation, Assam, and different private companies, for alleged misappropriation of the state government's money. The ED had initiated a money laundering investigation on the basis of CM's Vigilance Cell FIR lodged in 2017 against the accused.
The UK Prime Minister was given a ceremonial reception and a Guard of Honour at Rashtrapati Bhawan where he was received by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Talking to the media after the ceremonial welcome, Johnson said that relations with India were never so strong.
In a notification issued this evening, the Health Department said: "A fine of Rs 500 for not wearing of face mask and cover in all public places in Delhi will be imposed from immediate effect till further orders in compliance of notification dated February 26, 2022."
During his recent visit to South Africa and interaction with the members of the Indian community there, Chief Election Commissioner Sushil Chandra urged the community to register as overseas voters as the present numbers are abysmally low. He also shared with the members that extension of Electronically Transmitted Postal Ballot System (ETPBS) facility to overseas voters is being contemplated.
Johnson started his visit to the home state of Prime Minister Narendra Modi by visiting Mahatma Gandhi's Sabarmati Ashram where he spent nearly 30 minutes. He also tried his hand at spinning the 'Charkha'.
