The Punjab Police have cracked the Batala double murder case involving a 19-year-old kabaddi player, with the Anti-Gangster Task Force (AGTF) nabbing three shooters linked to foreign-based fugitive gangster Happy Jat from the Bhutan border.
The arrests were made by Punjab Police in coordination with OFTEC (Overseas Fugitive Tracking & Extradition Cell), Punjab, central agencies and West Bengal police on the Indo-Bhutan border in West Bengal. The police said the trio was involved in the sensational double murder that took place in Batala on April 27.
The police are yet to disclose the identity of the shooters. The three arrested accused are being brought to Punjab for further interrogation.
Happy Jat, whose real name is Harpreet Singh, hails from Jandiala Guru in Amritsar district. A proclaimed offender, he has been living abroad and faces more than 20 serious criminal cases, including drug smuggling, arms trafficking, and targeted killings. He is known for running a drug smuggling network using drones to bring in heroin from across the border. The Punjab Police have been actively pursuing his extradition for several years.
On the evening of April 27, between 9 pm and 9:30 pm, four assailants on motorcycles opened indiscriminate fire on a group of three people on the outskirts of a village near Batala.
The victims were Kashmir Singh, 40, and Jugraj Singh, 19, a promising local-level kabaddi player. Both were killed on the spot in the hail of bullets. A third person, Jugraj Singh (18), who was accompanying them, sustained injuries and is undergoing treatment.
Technical surveillance, CCTV analysis, and intelligence inputs helped trace the assailants to the gang of Happy Jat. Further investigation is under way to nab the fourth assailant and uncover the full conspiracy behind the killings.
