Gangster arrested in Amritsar Hindu leader''s murder

Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, March 6

A gangster suspected of having shot dead a Hindu leader in Amritsar was arrested, police said on Monday.

Vipin Sharma, president of the Hindu Sangharsh Sena, was shot dead on the Amritsar-Batala road on October 21 last year.

A joint team of Organised Crime Control Unit (OCCU) of Punjab Police and Jalandhar (Rural) Police arrested gangster Saraj Singh Sandhu from Bidhipur railway crossing, close to Jalandhar-Amritsar road (NH-1) in the early hours of Tuesday, Additional Inspector General, OCCU, Jalandhar, HKPS Khakh told the press at a briefing.

Sandhu — who is suspected of having committed several crimes, including murder, dacoity and extortion and carries a reward of Rs 5 lakh on his head — claimed Sharma’s murder in a Facebook post.

Khakh claimed Sandhu was part of the gang that attacked a police team that was bringing a criminal, Shubham Singh, to a court in Amritsar to help the latter escape.

Police claimed Sharma’s murder was aimed at avenging the suspected murder of Singh’s father Baljinder Singh alias Kalu, a suspended police constable. Singh suspected Sharma of helping his father’s killer and plotted his murder, Khakh said.

Police will now seek production warrants for Jaggu Bhagwan Purian and Bobby Malhotra, both of whom Sandhu had named in drug dealing, to bring them for questioning. They are currently at Hoshiarpur and Amritsar jails, respectively.

Chief Minister Amarinder Singh congratulated Punjab Police on Sandhu's arrest.

"Congrats @PunjabPolice for nabbing gangster Saraj Singh Sandhu, wanted for murder of Hindu leader Vipan Sharma & other heinous crimes. Great job by AIG OCCU Harkamal Khakh, DSP RK Yadav, SIs Pritpal & Sukhjit, ASI Sukhwinder. Kudos to DGP Suresh Arora, DGP Intel Dinkar Gupta," his tweet read.

Congrats for nabbing gangster Saraj Singh Sandhu, wanted for murder of Hindu leader Vipan Sharma & other heinous crimes. Great job by AIG OCCU Harkamal Khakh, DSP RK Yadav, SIs Pritpal & Sukhjit, ASI Sukhwinder. Kudos to DGP Suresh Arora, DGP Intel Dinkar Gupta.

— Capt.Amarinder Singh (@capt_amarinder)

Sharma’s murder came within a fortnight of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh leader Ravinder Gosain’s killing in Ludhiana.

Several religious leaders have been killed in the state since 2016, raising questions about the prevailing law and order situation in the state.