Karnal, Ambala cops arrest two in Shahabad firing case

In a major breakthrough, a joint team of the special task force (STF) of Karnal and Ambala has arrested two persons allegedly involved in recent firing incidents at Aman Dhaba in Shahabad. One of the accused was also allegedly involved in firing incident at Sonkra village in Karnal district recently. Both accused were arrested from Sector12 on Sunday evening.

The arrested persons have been identified as Sauhard, alias Shivam, a resident of Yamunanagar, and Paras, from Delhi. Both are said to be active members of a gang that operates across Delhi-NCR and parts of Haryana.

The STF officials recovered four weapons, including three pistols, a double-barrel gun, and 52 live cartridges from the accused.

Forensic verification confirmed that two of the pistols were used in Aman Dhaba shooting, which took place on June 26. Both accused played a crucial role in aiding the shooters by arranging their travel, providing shelter and helping them escape to Punjab after the crime, said Wasim Akram, Superintendent of Police (SP), STF.

The SP said the two shooters committed the crime using a stolen bike at Aman Dhaba. The STF is actively pursuing both shooters, said the SP.

The STF also highlighted a worrying trend in which foreign-based gangsters were luring unemployed youth from Haryana into criminal activities. Many of these gangsters operated remotely from countries such as Canada and the USA, using local contacts to execute extortion, contract killings and shootouts.

“In the last few days, we have arrested multiple such operatives who were influenced by foreign handlers,” Akram added.

The SP further revealed that sophisticated weapons were being smuggled into India via drones from Pakistan.

Shivam has a criminal record with 16 cases registered against him. He was out on bail in one such case at the time of arrest. However, Paras does not have any previous criminal record, the SP added.

Both accused have been presented in court and are now in five-day police remand for further interrogation. At present, The STF is investigating the wider gang network, weapon supply routes and foreign handlers both within India and abroad. More arrests are expected in the coming days as we investigate further, the SP said.

During interrogation, Shivam’s name also surfaced in connection with the recent firing incident at Karnal’s Sonkra village. He is believed to have been directly involved, along with another yet-to-be-identified accomplice, who is currently being traced by the police teams.