Man-son duo held on charge of targeted shooting in Punjab

Chandigarh, Oct 23 (IANS) In a breakthrough, Punjab Police's Anti-Gangster Task Force (AGTF) arrested Krishan Gopal along with his son Keshav in connection with the targeted shooting at a jewellery shop in Hoshiarpur, said Director General of Police (DGP) Gaurav Yadav here on Thursday.

The police have recovered a .32 caliber pistol along with cartridges from their possession and also impounded their motorcycle, which they were riding.

DGP Yadav said the arrested duo was involved in a targeted shooting at Ganpati Jewellers, which took place on October 18 when two assailants on motorcycles opened fire on the premises.

Following the attack, the shop owner received a threatening call from an unknown foreign number, demanding Rs 20 lakh in extortion, he said.

A case was registered under sections 336, 324 (4) and 3 (5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and Section 25 of the Arms Act at the police station in Mahilpur.

The DGP said further investigations are ongoing in the case.

Sharing operational details, Additional Director General of Police (AGTF) Promod Ban said following the attack at the jewellery shop, police teams from AGTF and Hoshiarpur district police under the supervision of DIG Sandeep Goel and Senior Superintendent of Police Sandeep Malik jointly conducted human and technical investigations and identified the suspects.

Acting swiftly, teams from AGTF Punjab and Hoshiarpur Police intercepted the suspects at Mehdoodpur village in Hoshiarpur district, where they resorted to indiscriminate firing on the police party in order to escape, but were overpowered after a brief exchange of fire. A fresh FIR has been registered under Sections 109, 221, 132 and 3 (5) of the BNS and Section 25 of the Arms Act at the police station Mahilpur.

Earlier in the day, in an intelligence-based operation, the Amritsar Commissionerate Police busted a cross-border narcotics smuggling module with links to Pakistan and apprehended drug kingpin Rajpal Singh and recovered 5.025 kg heroin.

Preliminary investigation revealed that the arrested accused was operating a cross-border network linked to a Pakistan-based handler and using the Dera Baba Nanak sector to retrieve drug consignments.

--IANS

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