DW BUREAU / CHANDIGARH

In a major action by the Counter Intelligence (CI) Jalandhar amidst the ongoing fight against organised crime launched on the directions of Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann, member of Babbar Khalsa International (BKI) Simranjit Singh alias Bablu? who is key assailant of former terrorist Rattandeep Singh? sustained bullet injuries on his both legs while unsuccessfully attempting to escape from the police custody on the outskirts of Jalandhar city, said Director General of Police (DGP) Punjab Gaurav Yadav here on Monday.

As per the information, former militant Rattandeep Singh was shot dead by two bike-borne assailants in SBS Nagar on April 3, 2024.

The development came few hours after the arrest of the accused Simranjit Bablu by the Counter Intelligence Jalandhar, when, following his disclosures, a Police team under the overall supervision of AIG CI Jalandhar Navjot Singh Mahal was taking the accused to the place near Wadala located at Jalandhar-Nakodar road, where he claimed to have concealed the pistol suspected to be used in Rattandeep's murder.

"On reaching the location, the accused tried to escape from the police custody after pushing down a police official, which led the CI Jalandhar team to open fire to stop him from fleeing resulting in gunshot injuries," said the DGP, while adding that the accused has been taken to the nearest hospital for treatment. Police teams have also recovered two sophisticated weapons? including one .32 Webley revolver and one .32 pistol? along with one magazine and 19 live cartridges from his possession.

DGP Gaurav Yadav said that preliminary investigations have revealed that the arrested accused Simranjit Bablu was working on the directions of Pakistan-based terrorist Harwinder Rinda and USA-based Gopi Nawanshehria, who tasked him and the other assailant identified as Jaspreet Singh alias Jassi Kulam to carry out target killing of former militant Rattandeep Singh to creat panic in the society. As per the information, accused Jassi Kulam managed to flee abroad after committing the crime.

He said that the Police have invoked sections of Arms Act and criminal conspiracy, and further investigations are on to establish forward and backward linkages in this case.

Sharing operation details, AIG Navjot Mahal said that following the intel-inputs, Police teams from CI Jalandhar laid a special naka in the area of Deol Nagar Colony, Jalandhar and successfully arrested the accused Simranjit Singh alias Bablu.

He said that the arrested accused is a hardcore criminal and facing numerous cases pertaining to murder, attempt to murder and Arms Act. Accused Bablu was also involved in the assassination of an ASI from Amritsar Police, he added.
(editor@dailyworld.in)