Six hours, 70 rounds later, Batala cops finally nab gangster Bablu

Ravi Dhaliwal

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Batala, October 8

The Batala police today arrested gangster Ranjodh Bablu from fields of Kotla Baja Singh village after a six-hour-long encounter in which nearly 70 rounds of fire were exchanged.

The area was converted into an impregnable fortress with the police blocking all entry and exit routes of the village.

The encounter, involving nearly 150 policemen, was supervised by IG (Border) Mohnish Chawla and SSP Satinder Singh.

Bablu is wanted in nearly a dozen NDPS and attempt to murder cases. The latest FIR that was registered against him was at the Rangar Nangal police station of Batala police district on September 9. He was booked under Sections 307 (attempt to murder), 427 (damage caused due to mischief), 506 (criminal intimidation), 148 (rioting) and 149 (unlawful assembly) of the IPC and the Arms Act.

The police were on the lookout for Bablu for the past several weeks. They got a tip-off in the morning that he was going to visit Kotla Baja Singh to meet an accomplice. He was accompanied by his wife and minor son.

Rangar Nangal SHO Manbir Singh raided the area once it became clear he had reached the village. In the ensuing commotion, the police nabbed his wife and child, but Bablu somehow managed to escape towards the paddy fields.

Sensing that he had been cornered, he fired a couple of shots. The police retaliated. By the time he was finally apprehended six hours later, 70 rounds had been exchanged. He kept firing for nearly two hours after which his gun went silent.

For the next few hours, SSP Satinder Singh, using a loudspeaker, kept on urging him to surrender. “Let bygones be bygones. We know you are injured. It will be good for you if you raise your hands and surrender,” urged the SSP repeatedly.

Meanwhile, a drone was pushed into service to trace his exact location.

Six hours after the first shots were fired around a dozen policemen walked towards the fields and pulled out a seriously injured Bablu.

The SSP said he had suffered a bullet injury in the back and had been rushed to the Civil Hospital.

Wanted in NDPS, attempt to kill cases

Ranjodh Bablu is wanted in nearly 12 NDPS and attempt to murder cases The latest FIR was registered against him at Rangar Nangal police station on September 9