BKI operative held after brief encounter

The police arrested Babbar Khalsa International (BKI) operative Gurpreet Singh, alias Gopi, a native of Mandi Gobindgarh, after a brief shootout near the Chapparchiri road this morning. He was allegedly wanted for an attempt to extort Rs 2 crore from a Sector 82 realtor on July 10.

The police said when cops cornered the suspect, he tried to flee on his bike and fell down. When the cops asked him to surrender, he fired four rounds at them, two of which hit the police vehicle. The police team fired two rounds into the air to warn Gopi, but he did not relent. In the retaliatory fire, he was shot in the left leg. He was taken to a hospital.

Gopi’s three accomplices were arrested earlier in the morning.

The police said two unidentified youths had opened fire at the office of the realtor and made a threat call demanding Rs 2 crore from him. The suspects are part of an extortion nexus run by terrorists.

Yesterday, the police had busted a BKI terror module being operated by foreign-based handlers Maninder Billa and Manu Agwan, with the arrest of its three members. They were identified as Sandeep Singh of Badshahpur, Harpreet Singh of Harchandpura and Harmanpreet Singh of Gurdialpura in Patiala district.

They were involved in grenade attacks on the police posts at Badshahpur in Patiala and Ajimgarh in Haryana. Their questioning led the police to Gopi.

CIA in-charge Harminder Singh Saini said, “The suspect is already booked in four case of extortion and Arms Act. He has spent time in jail also.”

Ambala shootout

Ambala: A team of CIA-1 unit of the local police nabbed a suspect involved in firing incidents, after a brief shootout today. Aman, a resident of Yamunanagar, suffered a bullet injury in his left leg and was taken to the Civil Hospital, Ambala City.

The CIA-1 in-charge, Harjinder Singh, said following a tip-off, a team cornered Aman, who was on a two-wheeler, in the Mullana area. He shot multiple rounds at the police party and in the retaliatory fire, he was shot in the leg.

The suspect was involved in firing incidents near the residences of a plywood merchant and a clothes trader in Yamunanagar on July 12.

Chandigarh