Youth murdered in Batala; case registered

A youth, Deep Cheema, was killed by two motorcycle-borne persons near the grain market on the Dera Baba Nanak road here on late Sunday night.

SSP Suhail Qasim Mir said, “A team of senior officers is investigating the matter. We have come across some clues and hope to crack the case soon.”

Noted gangster Harry Chatha, who is on the run, took responsibility for the crime in a social media post. “Anybody who works against us will meet the same fate. We know Deep Cheema was an acquaintance of Donny Bal so we killed him,” read Chatha’s post. Donny Bal is also a gangster, who operates in the area.

The growing animosity between the Harry Chatha and Donny Bal gangs is worrying the cops. A police officer said yesterday’s incident was all about “turf wars happening among gangsters in Batala”.

A case has been registered by the Batala police.

Meanwhile, a local court extended the police remand of gangster Jaggu Bhagwanpuria by five days. The cops had brought him to Batala from Silchar jail in Assam a few days ago to investigate him. He has several cases of murder and extortion registered against him.

An officer said he had divulged vital information about gangsters operating in the city and its adjoining towns.