Jagraon killings: 3 days on, no trace of four gangsters

Nikhil Bhardwaj

Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, May 18

Three days have been passed but the Ludhiana rural police have failed to trace the whereabouts of the gangster Jaipal and his three aides who shot dead two ASIs Bhagwan Singh and Dalwinderjit Singh at New Grain Market in Jagraon here.

The Ludhiana police had also carried out an intensive combing operation at over 24 villages near Alamgir till late night but no trace of the gangsters was found.

Yesterday, a cash reward was also announced on information regarding the four gangsters involved in the killing — Jaipal Bhullar of Dashmesh Nagar, Ferozepur; Baljinder Singh, alias, Babbi of Mahala Khurd, Moga; Jaspreet Singh Jassi of Kharar and Darshan Singh of Sahauli village, Ludhiana. Rs 10 lakh cash reward was announced on Jaipal, Rs 5 lakh on Jaspreet, and Rs 2 lakh each on Baljinder and Darshan.

The day these gangsters had killed the police officials, not only the Ludhiana rural police but the entire Punjab Police has been put on alert. The Organised Control Crime Unit (OCCU), which had last year arrested the brother of Jaipal in a 30-kg gold robbery case in Ludhiana, had also been conducting raids across the state.

In the past three days, the police have also rounded up several associates or kin of these gangsters to get any clue but to no avail.

Sources said whenever Jaipal commits any crime, he goes to his pre-decided hideouts and stays there for months.Police suspect he must be having advanced weapons. Even the day he killed the ASIs, he reportedly came to collect some advanced weapons. Sources said Jaipal did not use mobile phones and he even stay away from social media due to which police find it difficult to trace him.

Notably, on February 17, five robbers had entered the branch of IIFL and took away 30 kg of gold worth Rs 12 crore. It was the OCCU team, led by the then former IG Kunwar Vijay Partap Singh, which arrested brother of Jaipal, Amritpal Bhullar.

Jaipal was the mastermind of the gold robbery and the Ludhiana police had failed to make any headway in the case then. Had the Ludhiana police acted, gangster Jaipal could also have been nabbed but the SIT formed by the Ludhiana police failed to arrest him.

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