Makhan Singh murder case: Shooter injured in Verka bypass encounter

Daler Singh, one of the shooters in the Makhan Singh murder case, was injured in a police encounter at the Verka bypass here on Wednesday. The incident took place when he was being taken to a place by a police party for weapon recovery. He opened fire at the police party members of which, in self-defence, fired at him, injuring him in the leg.

The encounter led to the cracking of the November 18 bus stand murder case, with all six accused, including three shooters, now behind bars.

According to the police, accused Daler Singh was taken by the A-Division team for the recovery of a .30 bore pistol near the drain at the Verka bypass. As soon as the police approached the spot, Daler allegedly pulled out the weapon from the bushes and fired directly at the team, attempting to escape.

Amandeep Kaur, SHO, immediately took cover and fired a warning shot. However, the accused continued to fire gunshots. Acting in self-defence, the SHO returned fire, injuring him in the right leg. The accused fell to the ground and the weapon was recovered. He was rushed to the Civil Hospital, Amritsar, for treatment and a fresh case has been registered at the Verka police station here.

While detailing about the incident, Police Commissioner Gurpreet Singh Bhullar said Makhan Singh was gunned down at the Amritsar bus stand on November 18, when three assailants opened fire at him and fled. A multi-pronged investigation was launched involving CCTV analysis, intelligence inputs and technical surveillance, he said.

The first breakthrough came with the arrest of John on November 23, who had waited outside the bus stand with a motorcycle to facilitate the shooters’ escape. His questioning led the police to shooter Karanbir Singh, alias Karan, and subsequently to Bikramjit Singh, alias Bikka, who had provided shelter to the shooters after the crime.

Parallel investigations resulted in the arrest of Dharmveer Singh, aka Joban, who had posted a WhatsApp story glorifying the murder and claiming that the incident was committed by a gangster.

Lovepreet Singh, alias Love, another shooter, was traced to Jamnagar, Gujarat, and arrested with the assistance of the Gujarat police. The sixth shooter, Daler Singh, was arrested on December 1.