Two shooters in Chandigarh Sector-9 murder case arrested after brief encounter in Kaithal

Chandigarh (The Uttam Hindu): In a major breakthrough, the Punjab Police’s Anti-Gangster Task Force (AGTF), in a joint operation with the Haryana Special Task Force (Karnal unit), arrested two shooters involved in the Chandigarh Sector-9 murder case after a brief exchange of fire in Kaithal on Thursday.

Accused identified, weapons recovered

Director General of Police Gaurav Yadav said the arrested accused have been identified as Rajan alias Piyush Pehalwan from Ferozepur and Pritam Shah from Nawanshahr. Police recovered three sophisticated weapons from their possession, including a .30 bore PX-5 pistol, a .30 calibre Chinese pistol and a .32 calibre pistol along with ammunition.

The accused are linked to the murder of Charanpreet Singh alias Chinni, who was shot dead by unidentified assailants in Chandigarh’s Sector 9 on Wednesday.

Links to Bambiha gang

Preliminary investigation revealed that both accused are close associates of fugitive gangster Lucky Patial of the Bambiha gang. Police also stated that Piyush Pehalwan was wanted in a high-profile murder case related to Yadvinder Singh, the driver of Jeevanjot Singh alias Jugnu.

DGP Yadav said the entire module was busted and the accused were apprehended within 30 hours of the crime. Further investigation is underway.

Operation ‘Ops Silent Trigger’ launched

ADGP Promod Ban said that immediately after the incident, AGTF launched a special operation named “Ops Silent Trigger” under the supervision of DIG Gurmeet Singh Chauhan to track down the accused.

During the operation, the accused opened fire on police teams led by SP Bikramjit Singh Brar. In retaliatory action, both accused were injured and later taken to a hospital for treatment.

International link under probe

Initial interrogation has revealed that accused Piyush had returned from Malaysia via Nepal to execute the हत्या, allegedly on instructions from a foreign-based handler.

Police said further investigation is ongoing to uncover the full network and possible international links behind the crime.