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Hoshiarpur murder suspect arrested after encounter
Accused Maninder Saini alias Lakhwinder Singh sustains bullet injury in leg after he opens fire at a police team chasing him, says SSP; .30-bore pistol has been seized from him
A man, suspected to have gunned down a 40-year-old motor mechanic in Kaloya village of Hoshiarpur district, sustained a bullet injury in his leg before being arrested near Chotala village in Tanda area on Friday, police said. The accused has been identified as Maninder Saini alias Lakhwinder Singh.
Senior superintendent of police (SSP) Sandeep Kumar Malik said a police team, acting on a tip-off, was chasing the accused when he opened fire at the cops near Chotala village. “In the retaliatory firing, he received a bullet injury in his leg and fell from his bike. He was admitted to a hospital,” he said.
He informed that a country-made .30-bore pistol was recovered from the accused who has already been facing three NDPS cases under different police stations. “We are on a hunt for the other suspects and hope to catch them soon, the SSP added.The motor mechanic, Baljit Singh of Kandhala Sheikhan village, was shot dead by bike-borne assailants in Kaloya village on Thursday. Dhadiala village sarpanch Atinderpal Singh, who was known to the deceased, mentioned in his police complaint that foreign-based gangsters Pardip Singh and Amardeep Singh, who hail from Garhdiwala, were behind the crime. The sarpanch also claimed that Dharminder Singh, a resident of Khadiala Sainian village, and two unknown persons were the ones who committed the murder.
Atinderpal further alleged that the deceased had been receiving threatening calls from the aforementioned individuals, who warned him of serious consequences if he aligned himself with their rivals. The Tanda police have already slapped Sections 103, 61(2) and 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and 25, 54 and 59 of the Arms Act against seven persons.
Meanwhile, one Teja Mehandpuria group has claimed responsibility for the murder. In an Instagram post, the group said Baljit was refusing to return ₹8.50 lakh he had borrowed from a person — Maninder. The post also mentioned that the deceased had threatened to kill Maninder, forcing him to flee from his home. The SSP said the social media account belonged to Maninder Saini.
