45 days on, 2 key accused still at large

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Jalandhar, June 4

Over one-and-a-half months after the Gopal Nagar firing incident (April 14), the police are yet to arrest two main accused. The complainant, Himanshu, alleged that the accused are roaming free in the city, but the police are not arresting them due to political pressure.

The police have already arrested four accused in the case, including dreaded gangster Pancham Noor, but two main accused – Puneet Soni, alias Pimpu, and Mirza, who had opened fire — are still absconding.

Talking to Jalandhar Tribune, Himanshu said on April 15, five to six youths opened fire on him when he was returning home along with his wife and a three-year-old daughter on his bike. He said the incident occurred near Batra Palace and two fires were heard, following which local residents gathered.

He said the police had gathered all the evidence against the accused and in the CCTV footage, which is in the possession of the police, it was seen that five to six youths followed him for some distance and then started firing. They then fled in their Honda Amaze car, he added.

He said though four of the accused had been arrested recently, two main accused on whose directions Pancham and its gang opened fire on him are still absconding. “Puneet Soni, alias Pimpu, and Mirza are two main accused in the case,” he added.

Himanshu further said both the accused were present in the city on Thursday night and they even posted snapchat stories, following which he alerted the police. “By the time, police teams launched a hunt to nab them, they had escaped,” he said.

The complainant said Puneet along with members of the Pancham gang opened fire on him to take their revenge against him for a college fight that happened way back in 2012.

“I appeal to Jalandhar Police to arrest Puneet Soni and his aides at the earliest as they are not only the main accused in the case but are habitual offenders who had many criminal cases under Sections 307, 323,324, 452, 427, 148 and 149 of the IPC and cases under the Arms Act and the NDPS Act registered against them,” he said.

When contacted, DCP (Investigation) Jaskaranjit Singh Teja said police teams had already arrested the dreaded gangster Pancham Noor in the case. Likewise, they have been conducting raids to arrest the other accused. He assured that no one, involved in the crime, would be spared.