Wanted criminal killed in shootout at Balachaur
The deceased, Varinder Singh, a native of Pandori Gollan village in Tarn Taran district, was wanted for multiple heinous crimes, including the murder of a sarpanch in Batala
The Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar police neutralised a wanted criminal in an encounter on the outskirts of Balachaur town on Saturday.
The deceased, Varinder Singh, a native of Pandori Gollan village in Tarn Taran district, was wanted for the murder of Cheema Khuddi village sarpanch in Batala on September 9 and another case of hurling a grenade at a liquor shop in Nawanshahr on September 11.
The police action came a day before chief minister Bhagwant Mann’s visit to mark the birthday anniversary of Shaheed Bhagat Singh at his ancestral Khatkar Kalan village.
Deputy inspector general of police (DIG, Ludhiana range) Satinder Singh said the district police were conducting patrolling in Balachaur area when they signalled a motorcycle-borne youth to stop. But instead of halting, the rider, later identified as Varinder, tried to escape.
“In the ensuing melee, the bike slipped and fell, and Varinder opened fire at the police party with his .9mm illegal revolver. In retaliation, the police team first fired in the air, but the accused kept firing. One of the bullets hit the accused and he was immediately apprehended. He was rushed to a local hospital, where he succumbed to the bullet wound,” DIG Satinder said.
Worked for foreign-based gangsters
The DIG added that Varinder was a history-sheeter and involved in several heinous crimes. He was working on the directives of his foreign handlers, Jaswinder Singh, alias Manu Agwan, Zeeshan Akhtar and Gopi Nawanshahria, all backed by Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI).
“We have recovered the .9mm pistol and empty cartridges from the crime scene. We have initiated investigation to know the reasons for his presence in SBS Nagar district,” DIG added.
He said Varinder was the main shooter involved in the killing of sarpanch Jugraj Singh in Batala on September 9.
On September 22, the anti-gangster task force of Punjab Punjab, in a joint operation with Batala police, central agencies and Nagaland police had arrested two key murder accused — Harmanpreet Singh and his cousin Gurpreet Singh of Batala — from Kohima. Police claimed that the accused murdered the sarpanch on the directions of their foreign handlers.
Earlier, on September 11, Varinder had hurled a grenade at a liquor vend on the outskirts of Nawanshahr city. Police had named him in the FIR registered at the Sadar police station.
Through an unverified social media post shared from an unauthenticated page of the Babbar Khalsa International (BKI), fugitive gangsters Gopi Nawanshahria, Mannu Agwan and Zeeshan Akhtar took responsibility for the attack, claiming that the liquor vend owners were asked to shut the shop permanently as it was causing nuisance in the area.
The post also warned of attacks with rocket launchers and IED in near future.
