Alipurduar, May 13 -- The Punjab Police, in a joint operation with Jaigaon Police in West Bengal, arrested three alleged shooters linked to a foreign-based fugitive gangster Happy Jat, in connection with the sensational Batala double murder case that claimed the life of a young kabaddi player.
The arrests were carried out near the Indo-Bhutan border in Jaigaon by the Anti-Gangster Task Force (AGTF) of Punjab Police in coordination with the Overseas Fugitive Tracking and Extradition Cell (OFTEC), central agencies and Alipurduar District Police.
The arrested accused have been identified as Jatin Singh, Sajandeep Singh and Mehekdeep Singh, all residents of Amritsar. Following their production before the Alipurduar court on Wednesday, the accused were granted transit remand and are being taken to Punjab for further interrogation.
Amit Kumar Shaw, Superintendent of Police of Alipurduar, said: "We provided all possible assistance sought by the Punjab Police in apprehending the three notorious gangsters. The accused will be taken to Punjab on transit remand, where further investigation will be carried out by the Punjab Police."
The operation is being seen as a major breakthrough in the high-profile murder case that triggered widespread outrage in Punjab after the killing of 19-year-old local kabaddi player Jugraj Singh. Investigators said the arrested men are associates of foreign-based gangster Happy Jat, alias Harpreet Singh, who is wanted in more than 20 criminal cases, including drug smuggling, arms trafficking, extortion and targeted killings and also running a cross-border narcotics network using drones to smuggle heroin into India.
According to police, four motorcycle-borne assailants opened indiscriminate fire on three persons near Batala on the night of April 27. Kashmir Singh (40) and Jugraj Singh (19) died on the spot, while another youth sustained injuries and is undergoing treatment. Police said CCTV footage, technical surveillance and intelligence inputs helped trace the accused, while efforts are on to arrest another assailant linked to the case.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.