3 held from Sriganganagar in Abohar bizman’s murder case
The Punjab Police on Friday arrested three persons from Rajasthan’s Sriganganagar district for allegedly providing shelter to the trio that had shot dead Abohar businessman Sanjay Verma on July 7.
The assailants in the case are still at large. Two other accused — Jaspreet and Ram Rattan — in the case were killed in a crossfire when a police team was allegedly attacked by their accomplices to ensure their escape, according to officials.
A separate case of murder and attempt to murder has been registered in this regard as a senior constable was also injured in the exchange of fire.
“It will only be confirmed through the post-mortem report whether they were killed by police bullets or by the assailants who opened fire on the police team,” said a police officer.
Meanwhile, Fazilka SSP Gurmeet Singh said those arrested from Sriganganagar were Inderpal Bishnoi (26), Sandeep Khichad (28) and Pawan Khichad (24), all residents of Kuchor Aguni village in Bikaner. “They provided shelter to those who came to kill Sanjay Verma. A foreign-based handler had transferred Rs 1.4 lakh to their bank accounts for this purpose. One of them runs a paying guest facility, and the other two are engaged in petty works,” he said.
Commenting on the incident during which two of the accused were killed, the SSP said, “A judicial probe has already been initiated and the matter is sub-judice. However, those who died in the exchange of fire were directly involved in the crime and several CCTV clips support this. I can’t comment further.”
While the police are yet to reveal the exact motive behind the murder of 56-year-old businessman, they are investigating it from all angles, including rivalry between the Bambiha and Lawrence Bishnoi gangs.
Earlier in the day, the post-mortem of Jaspreet was conducted by a board of doctors under tight security at the local Civil Hospital. The body was later handed over to family members, who had initially refused to come here, raising questions over the police action.
‘All three assailants belong to Fazilka’
Meanwhile, highly place sources said three assailants are residents of Fazilka district. “While one of them, Shakti, a resident of Azimgarh village here, is already named in the FIR, the two others were identified as Rajinder, alias Billa, and Jaskaran, alias Katta. Their photos have been provided to several investigation agencies,” said a senior police officer.
“Billa is a dreaded criminal. He has faced police interrogation several times in the past and was earlier arrested with weapons smuggled from Madhya Pradesh. He is currently out on bail. Katta is also involved in the illegal arms trade,” the officer added.
Who is prime suspect Aarzoo Bishnoi?
The prime suspect in the case, Aarzoo Bishnoi’s real name is Naveen Kumar.
After of the murder, Aarzoo Bishnoi had allegedly claimed responsibility for it through a Facebook post. He hails from Rajanwali village and is an aide of gangster Lawrence Bishnoi, who is from the neighbouring Duttaranwali village near Abohar town. He is believed to have left the country. “Aarzoo has nearly a dozen cases against him, including those related to illegal weapons. Some locals say he initially wanted to join the armed forces but ended up in the world of crime. His family comes from a humble background, unlike Lawrence’s family owning vast agricultural land,” said an officer.
Punjab