2 gangsters killed, 3 held in Bathinda

Sukhmeet Bhasin

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Tribune News Service

Bathinda, December 15

Two gangsters were killed and another was injured in an encounter at Gulabgarh village when a police team cornered five of them after they had snatched a Toyota Fortuner from a person at Bhucho Khurd village here today.  

  The remaining two were nabbed from a government school that they had entered in a bid to dodge the police.

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The accused, said to be aides of gangster Vicky Gounder, snatched the Fortuner, following which the Bucho police gave them a chase. When they saw them heading towards Gulabgarh, the police sounded a CIA team patrolling nearby.

The police claimed the team blocked the way of the gangsters near the school after which the accused opened fire, inviting retaliation. 

This incident took place around 11.30 am. Three persons injured in the incident were taken to the Civil Hospital, where Manpreet Manna and Prabhdeep Singh died. Accomplice Amritpal is still admitted there. 

Those arrested were identified as Harvinder Singh (alias Bhinda) and Gurvinder Singh (alias Ginda). No policeman was injured.

Bathinda zone IGP Mukhwinder Singh Chinna, who reached the spot, said the gangsters came in a Scorpio bearing a fake number plate (PB-02-CX-8395). A 9-mm pistol and .32-bore and .315-bore pistols were seized from them.

Their affiliation was, however, not immediately known, he added.

Gangster Amritpal Singh, facing trial in a murder case, had escaped from police custody from the Abohar court complex on September 27, 2017, with the help of gangsters Manna and Prabhdeep.

Other gangsters are also habitual criminals who face various cases in Punjab and Rajasthan. Harvinder is the first cousin of Shera Khuban, who was killed in police encounter in Bathinda in 2012.

According to initial investigation, the IGP said, the gangsters first parked a Brezza car bearing a fake number plate at car bazaar in Malout town. They then boarded a bus and reached Bathinda, where they got a Scorpio car that was snatched at gunpoint in Rajasthan. A Bathinda police team has taken the Brezza into its possession.