Behbal Kalan police firing accused denied bail in arms case

Tribune News Service

Faridkot, January 9

In a case of alleged illegal trafficking of foreign-made weapons into the state by some Bihar and UP-based gangsters, the Additional District and Sessions Judge here has dismissed the bail application of one of the accused, Pankaj Bansal, a Moga-based car agency owner.

Bansal is an accused in the Behbal Kalan police firing incident of October 2015. Charged with allegedly fabricating bullet marks on a police Gypsy, he has been in jail since August 21, 2020.

In the six-year-old case, Bansal was earlier not named as an accused in the FIR, but cited as a prosecution witness by the police. However, after the probe was handed over to Punjab Police’s Organised Crime Control Unit (OCCU) last year, the re-investigation pointed a finger at some police officers for shielding some accused in the case.

After the re-investigation, Bansal was arraigned as an accused and was arrested in August last year.

The OCCU alleged that he was one of the buyers of illegal weapons from gangster Ranjit Singh, alias Dupla, through Ranjit Singh, alias Guru, owner of Kalyan Gun House, Mansa. It claimed that he purchased the weapons unlawfully smuggled into India from abroad.

The OCCU alleged that though there was ample evidence on record that Bansal in connivance with other accused — Rajesh Kumar Gupta of Bareli (UP) and Uma Kant Yadav of Munger (Bihar) — indulged into the unlawful trade of foreign-made weapons. Gupta and Yadav have also been associated with Naxalites in Bihar.

However, he was given a clean chit by the police six years ago. After naming and arresting Bansal, the OCCU has also added the earlier-deleted Section 16 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act in the case. It is alleged that the smuggled weapons were used for robbery, ransom and other crimes.