Shaurya Chakra awardee Balwinder Singh Sandhu murder case: Key accused among three arrested

Chandigarh: The Punjab Police on Tuesday arrested three persons, including the key accused of the sensational murder case of Shaurya Chakra awardee Balwinder Singh Sandhu.

The three arrested accused have been identified as Gurwinder Singh alias Baba alias Raja and his two aides Sandeep Singh alias Kala and Gurpreet Singh alias Randhawa. They were nabbed from Tarn Taran Sahib in Punjab, said a press release on Tuesday.

The Punjab Police have also recovered one hand-grenade, one RDX-IED, two 30-bore pistols along with magazines and 13 live cartridges, 635 grams heroin, 100 grams opium, Rs 36.90 lakh drug money, and one Mitsubishi Lancer car from their possession, reported news agency ANI.

Punjab Director General of Police (DGP) Gaurav Yadav said that accused Gurwinder Singh alias Baba, who is proclaimed offender (PO) of the National Investigation Agency (NIA), had played a pivotal role in the Sandhu’s killing by providing weapons to shooters.

A probe revealed that Gurwinder Baba is a close associate of notorious gangsters Sukhpreet Singh alias Harry Chatha and Sukhmeetpal Singh alias Sukh Bikhariwal– a prime suspect in Balwinder Singh Sandhu’s murder case, the DGP said as reported by ANI

The DGP further said the preliminary investigations indicated that the recovered explosives and arms and ammunition were to be used to disrupt the peace and harmony and create a sense of terror in the state of Punjab on or around Independence Day.

Addressing a press conference in the presence of SSP Tarn Taran Ranjit Singh Dhillon, Inspector General of Police (IGP) Ferozepur Range, Jaskaran Singh said following the reliable inputs that Gurwinder Baba along with his aide Sandeep was on the way to Khadoor Sahib, the Tarn Taran Police party intercepted the car in which both were travelling and managed to arrest them.

Two pistols with loaded magazines, 635 grams of heroin, 100gram opium, and Rs 3.90 lakh drug money were recovered from the car, he added.

Following the disclosures of Gurwinder Baba, police also recovered one hand grenade, one RDX-IED, and Rs 33 lakh drug money from the location pinpointed in the area of Police District Batala. Preliminary investigations suggest that the recovered explosives, arms, and drugs were smuggled via drones from Pakistan, the IGP said as reported by ANI.

SSP Tarn Taran Ranjit Singh Dhillon said an FIR has been registered under sections 18, 21, 25, and 29 of the NDPS Act, sections 25(6) and 25(7) of the Arms Act, sections 4 and 5 of the Explosive Substance Act and sections 10, 11 and 12 of the Aircraft Act at Police Station Verowal. The arrests are likely to lead to further disclosures of cross-border smuggling modules. Further investigations are on, he added.