CCTV captures deadly attack on gangster Bhagwanpuria’s family in Punjab
Gangster Jaggu Bhagwanpuria’s mother and cousin were shot dead by two motorcycle-borne assailants late on Thursday night. Police sources claim Harjit Kaur, mother of Bhagwanpuria and a former sarpanch of her native Bhagwanpur village, which is located on the Batala-Dera Baba Nanak Road, and her nephew Karanveer Singh had just sat in their SUV in front of their residence on the Batala-Qadian road when two persons came on a motorcycle and fired gunshots at them. The assailants came near the vehicle and fired nearly 15 shots before making good their escape.
CCTV cameras installed nearby captured the crime. A video of the shootout, carried out in one of the busiest areas of the city, soon went viral.
The police have launched a massive drive to nab the accused.
A police control room was immediately informed as passers-by took the two injured to the Civil Hospital. Karanveer succumbed to his injuries while on the way to the hospital. Harjit Kaur, who was referred by doctors to an Amritsar hospital, too, died on the way.
A social media post surfaced hours after the shooting in which the Davinder Bambiha gang took responsibility for the crime. Police sources say there are over half a dozen associates and friends of Bambiha, including some based abroad and some lodged in jails of Punjab, who are running his gang and regularly updating their activities on social media.
Bambiha’s gang members said they had gunned down the duo in retaliation for the murder of Gurpreet Singh, alias Gora Bariyar. He was killed in May by members of the Bhagwanpuria gang in a shootout that took place near a petrol pump on the Ghuman-Sri-Hargobindpur road.
Jaggu Bhagwanpuri is a notorious figure in the area. He used to operate a syndicate which specialised in extortion and murder in the area. It is said that a majority of extortion calls made to industrialists in recent months had been made by his gang.
SSP Suhail Qasim Mir said the police had worked throughout the night in an attempt to crack the murder case. “We have formed several teams and have stumbled upon certain clues in the course of our investigation. We hope to nab the accused soon,” he said.
An FIR has been registered at the Civil Lines police station. The police have collected footage from several CCTV cameras installed on the Batala-Qadian road.
“We are also looking into the motive of the crime,” said the SSP.
There were rumours in the city that the main target of the assailants was Karanveer, said to be close to the Bhagwanpuria family, and that Harjit Kaur had been killed accidentally. The police are looking into this angle too.
Sources say the police are close to apprehending the culprits and have identified a few locations where the assailants may have gone in hiding.
Punjab