The police have cracked the firing incident occurred at Prem Dhaba in Khanna with the arrest of five suspects, including two shooters. Shaganpreet, former manager of slain singer Sidhu Moosewala, and gangster Doni Bal was considered to be the key conspirators in the case as their gang members had demanded Rs 50 lakh extortion from the dhaba owner.
A .30 bore pistol, along with magazine, two cartridges and a Bajaj Pulsar motorcycle (bearing registration number PB 26 J 4696) were seized from the suspects.
Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), Khanna, Darpan Ahluwalia, while addressing a press conference, stated that on May 1, around 6:45 am, two unidentified persons opened fire at Prem Dhaba, owned by Naresh Pathak, alias Nannu, a resident of Ram Nagar, Khanna. Following which, the Khanna police constituted multiple teams under the leadership of Mohit Kumar Singla, DSP (D), Khanna, and Vinod Kumar, DSP, sub-division, Khanna. Later, an FIR was filed at the Khanna City police station.
Dr Ahluwalia said during investigation, by utilising technical analysis, human intelligence and examining CCTV footage up to approximately 150 km, the police arrested two shooters, Sahibjot Singh (19), a resident of Floud Kalan village in Ahmedgarh, Malerkotla district, and Munish Sharma (28) of Basant Nagar, Shimlapuri, from Mohali. Earlier, Munish was working as a delivery boy and he had a criminal background while Sahibjot is pursuing some diploma.
During interrogation, both of them confessed to having carried out the firing at the behest of Doni Bal and Shaganpreet. Further interrogation revealed that Parminder Singh, a resident of Chari village, Fatehgarh Sahib, at present residing in Khanna, Amandeep Singh of Rahon, and Vivek Singh of Ludhiana, had arranged the pistol, stolen motorcycle and hideouts for the shooters, she said.
Mohammad Akhtar of Khanna, helped in conducting recce of Prem Dhaba. Thereafter, the four suspects were also nominated in the case. Later, Amandeep, Vivek and Akhtar were also held. Raids are on to arrest Parminder. He will be nabbed soon, the SSP said.
Suspect hurt during recovery of illegal weapon
The police said during interrogation of Munish Sharma, it came to light that the weapon used in the crime had been concealed on the roof of a motor room near a petrol station at Isru village. When the SHO, along with a police team, reached the spot for weapon recovery, Munish attempted to escape by jumping from the roof, sustaining injuries. However, he was apprehended by the team.
SSP Darpan Ahluwalia asserted that police investigation revealed that Shaganpreet, at present staying in Australia, was linked with gangster Doni. They had allegedly demanded extortion from several businessmen.
Timely arrest averts two incidents
The SSP said during questioning of the shooters, they confessed that they had also planned to carry out a contract killing in Rohtak, Haryana. Firing at a petrol station in Khanna for extortion was also supposed to be committed by them. However, their arrest averted both incidents.
