Chandigarh, Aug. 12 -- The operations cell of Chandigarh police arrested three operatives of foreign-based gangster Deepak Nandal and an alleged Pakistan-linked arms dealer with three sophisticated pistols, including a Turkish-made Zigana pistol of the same make as the weapon used in the recent murder of a cashier at a chemist shop in Sector 11. The gang operatives, Ajay, 19, Rohit, 18, and Dev, 18, all from Jind, Haryana, were caught in UT on August 3. Based on their disclosures, arms dealer Nishan Singh, 32, of Kakar village in Amritsar, was arrested subsequently, police said. The three youngsters had been allegedly recruited by Nandal, who is among the most-wanted gangsters in Haryana, after being lured with money. Based abroad, Nandal was in contact with a Pakistani weapons supplier and allegedly arranged for the consignments to reach his associates through Nishan. Police said Nandal and the trio were allegedly plotting an extortion and preparing to carry out a firing at their target in Gurugram, Haryana. They had already carried out a recce of the target. A Sonepat native, identified as Arun, who currently works in the United Arab Emirates, had facilitated the contact between Nandal and the three youngsters. Accused Ajay had initially established contact with Nandal through a foreign-based associate on social media and subsequently introduced Rohit and Dev to the gang, police said. A Turkish-made Zigana pistol loaded with five live cartridges was recovered from Ajay. A Chinese-made PX3 pistol along with four live cartridges was recovered from Rohit, while a magazine containing two live cartridges was recovered from Dev. Another Chinese-made PX3 pistol was recovered from Nishan. Police said Nishan, who lives in a village near the Pakistan border in Amritsar and runs a dairy, allegedly acted as an intermediary between Pakistan-based arms suppliers and ground-level gang operatives. He had established contact with a person based in Pakistan and allegedly received consignments of illegal firearms on his agricultural land through drones operating across the border. He allegedly facilitated the onward delivery of the weapons to associates of gangsters operating from abroad, police said. Ajay, who was living with his maternal grandmother in Silana village in Haryana and working as a helper at Maruti, allegedly acted as the primary link between Nandal's foreign-based network and the local recruits. Besides conducting the recce on Nandal's directions, he allegedly coordinated the movement and receipt of illegal weapons. Rohit, who worked at an electrical shop and earned around Rs.10,000 a month, allegedly participated in the recce and was part of the group tasked with carrying out the planned crime. He remained in contact with gang members for instructions regarding the recce, movement and execution of the alleged plan. Dev, who worked as a shop helper, was allegedly introduced to the gang by Ajay. He too participated in the recce and was allegedly involved in preparations to execute the planned conspiracy. Nandal, who spent his early years in Rohtak, was associated with the Haryanvi music industry before becoming one of Haryana Police's most-wanted gangsters. According to reports from 2020, he was then associated with singer Rahul Fazilpuria and rapper Badshah. He first came under the police scanner over local disputes and alleged illegal arms smuggling before moving into extortion and contract killing, according to police records and reports. Police believe Nandal fled India in 2023 and has since been operating from abroad, possibly from the UK. Investigators allege that he has been directing criminal activities in Haryana and Delhi-NCR through local recruits from these areas and neighbouring states, including Punjab, using encrypted messaging platforms and social media....