2 operatives of Bambiha gang held with 6 pistols, 19 live cartridges from Barnala

The Anti Gangster Task Force (AGTF), in a joint operation with Barnala police, arrested two operatives of the Davinder Bambiha gang and recovered six pistols and 19 live cartridges from their possession, said Director General of Police (DGP) Punjab Gaurav Yadav on Sunday.

Those arrested have been identified as Sandeep Singh, a resident of Hanumangarh in Rajasthan, and Shekhar, a resident of Kaithal in Haryana. The recovered weapons include one PX5 pistol, one .30 bore pistol, four .32 bore pistols along with 19 live cartridges.

The police have also impounded their car, which they were allegedly using to retrieve and deliver the weapon consignments.

The DGP said preliminary investigation revealed that the arrested accused were acting on the directions of their foreign-based handlers and planning to supply these weapons to foot soldiers of the Bambiha gang to execute crimes. Further investigation is underway to establish backward and forward linkages in the case to identify and dismantle the entire supply chain, he said.

Sharing details, Additional Director General of Police (ADGP) AGTF, Promod Ban, said that police teams had received specific inputs about the handlers of Bambiha gang hatching a conspiracy to commit a sensational crime in the state.

“Acting swiftly, teams from the AGTF Punjab, under the supervision of AIG AGTF Sandeep Goel, in a joint operation with Barnala Police, have successfully apprehended both the suspects from Barnala-Bathinda main road at Dhaula village,” he said.

Both the arrested accused had a criminal history with a case pertaining to the Arms Act registered against them.

Barnala SSP Mohammad Sarfaraz Alam said that a case has been registered under Section 111 of the BNS and Section 25 of the Arms Act at Rureke Kalan police station in Barnala.