Gangster held after encounter

Three operatives of the Prabh Dasuwal gang, including its main shooter, have been arrested over the past 24 hours. The arrested shooter was identified as Arshdeep Singh, alias Vicky, of Mari Kalan village in Amritsar. He was arrested following an encounter on Saturday evening, while two others were arrested a day earlier.

The police got a tipoff that Arshdeep Singh was in the Bajakhana area in Faridkot and was planning to commit a major crime. Riding a bike, when he was signalled to stop at a naka, he attacked the police team. That led to an exchange of fire and Arshdeep Singh was injured. He was taken to the hospital for treatment. Officers seized a pistol and live cartridges from the scene.

Arshdeep’s arrest came a day after the nabbing of his two associates. The other two apprehended persons were Baljeet Singh, alias Kaddu, and Sunny.

The police had seized a .30 bore pistol and live cartridges from Baljeet Singh and Sunny during their arrest at Panjgrain village on Friday, said Faridkot SSP Pragya Jain.

She said an investigation had revealed that Arshdeep Singh was in direct contact with foreign-based gangster Prabh Dasuwal and took orders for targeted killings. He and his two associates were involved in a firing incident at Chheharta in Amritsar recently.

Arshdeep Singh already has a case of snatching registered against him, while Baljeet Singh faces a case of extortion.