Police arrested two aides of Punjab’s most-wanted gangster Harjinder Singh, alias Vicky Gounder, in Tarn Taran on Sunday.
The move comes two days after Gounder and his accomplices Prema Lahoriya and Shaminder Singh (who was identified on Sunday) were shot dead in an encounter by Punjab Police at Pakki village in Rajasthan’s Sriganganagar on Friday evening.
Those arrested have been identified as Amritpal Singh Bath of Mianpur village and Lovepreet Singh of Nagoge in Khadoor Sahib. Police said they were providing financial support and shelter to Gounder after he escaped from the high-security Nabha jail in November 2016.
Confirming the arrest, a police official said the accused have been booked under Sections 212 (harbouring offender), 216 (harbouring offender who has escaped from custody or whose apprehension has been ordered) and 120-B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code. They were arrested from Amritpal’s house, he added.
He said both the accused were close aides of Gounder. Amritpal was wanted in 23 cases, including attempt to murder, the police official said.
Amritpal, a former president of a student union in Amritsar’s Khalsa College, was also booked for assaulting a srapanch of Chabhal village, Monu Cheema, who is close to Congress MLA from Tarn Taran Dharambir Agnihotri, during the block samiti elections. Amritpal was arrested around three months ago but was later released on bail.
Police said Lovepreet is brother of gangster Gopi Kaura, also a Gounder aide. Police swung into action after supporters of Jaipal Singh, who leads the gang of which Gounder was a member, vowed to avenge his killing. Facebook page named “Jaipal Bhullar Aale” told police to “be prepared for the revenge”. Jaipal is prime accused in the murder of gangster-politician Jaswinder Singh Rocky.
