Gangster Sonu Mota case: Police arrest prime accused from Manali

Two days after the broad daylight murder of alleged gangster Ravneet Singh alias Sonu Mota, a resident of Sultanwind Road area, in Kathian Wala Bazaar near the Golden Temple here, the police have arrested the prime accused, Abhiraj Singh alias Abhi (25), hailing from the Telephone Exchange area.

Speaking to media persons, Police Commissioner Gurpreet Singh Bhullar said that Abhiraj along with his accomplice Rahul Kumar alias Mota (27) of Ganj Di Mori, was arrested from near Bhootnath temple in Manali, Himachal Pradesh.

“Revenge was the motive behind the murder as Abhiraj was suspicious that it was Sonu Mota who got a recee conducted of his slain father Gurdeep Pehalwan who was later shot dead at an Akhara in Gole Bagh area in 2018,” said Bhullar. He said after shooting down Sonu Mota, the duo escaped to Dharamshala and then to Manali. They were planning to flee towards Lahaul Spiti when they were arrested, he added.

Angaddeep Singh of Antaryami Colony has lodged a complaint with Kotwali police that he along with his friend Ravneet Singh alias Sonu Mota was returning home after paying obeisance at a gurdwara on their scooter when the accused who was riding pillion came from behind and sprayed bullets at Ravneet, leaving him critically injured. He was rushed to a hospital for treatment where doctors declared him dead on arrival.

Sonu Mota was an accomplice of notorious gangster Jaggu Bhagwanpuria and was facing five criminal cases, including that of attempt to murder and under the provisions of Arms Act and NDPS Act, said the Police Commissioner.

The accused were being brought to Amritsar on transit remand from Himachal Pradesh. They would be produced in a local court to get their police custody for further investigation.

A passerby was also injured in the firing at Kathian Wala Bazaar on Tuesday. The accused used an illegal .30 bore pistol for the murder. Further investigations were in progress to ascertain their links with gangsters and criminal elements. Abhiraj was also facing a case of attempt to murder and under provisions of the Arms Act.

Amritsar