Chaura procured bullets from cop: Probe

A police probe has revealed that the bullets used by the Khalistani activist Narain Singh Chaura in his assassination bid against senior Akali leader Sukhbir Singh Badal were procured from a policeman. The police had submitted a challan in the incident in a court on January 31.

The 9mm pistol used in the crime was part of the weapon consignment smuggled from a foreign shores while six bullets recovered were given to him by ASI Nirmal Singh, posted in the traffic wing of the Batala police in 2020, a police official claimed in the challan.

However, ASI Nirmal Singh died of cardiac arrest in May 2020. His son, who is also a constable, has submitted the death certificate to the investigating officer in the case.

Apart from six live cartridges of 9mm, the police had also recovered an empty shell of the bullet after Chaura shot at Badal when he was serving ‘tankhah’ (religious punishment) as a sewadar at the entrance of the Golden Temple on December 4, last year. He had narrowly escaped as the bullet hit the wall after police personnel in plainclothes overpowered him.

Chaura was captured from the spot along with the pistol used in the crime on the spot. He is currently in judicial custody right now.