Samrala killing: Cop among 3 injured in encounter; ‘social media post in Anmol Bishnoi’s name was fake’, say police

Anmol Bishnoi is the accomplice cum brother of dreaded gangster Lawrence Bishnoi. Both are currently jailed.

Khanna SSP Jyoti Yadav said that the four of nine accused were arrested Monday from the house of one Davinder Singh of Ratoke, Tarn Taran.

The accused were identified as Harkaran Singh alias Karan and Rajveer Singh alias Lali (Madhpur village), and Gurtej Singh alias Teji and Jaspreet Singh alias Jassu (Chak Sarai).

The SSP said the accused confessed to the hiding of weapons near the Toll Plaza in Samrala’s Kubbe village. Following which, police accompanied the accused to Kubbe to recover the weapons.

“Harkaran opened fire at police with the intention to escape. The bullet hit Sub inspector (SI) Narinderpal Singh on his left leg. In self-defense, the SI also fired… hitting Harkaran in his leg. Meanwhile, co-accused Gurtej… jumped from the first floor, sustaining injuries…,” said SSP Yadav. The two injured accused and the sub-inspector were admitted to Samrala’s Civil Hospital for treatment, she added.

“Around one month ago, a blood donation camp was held in Samrala where the father of accused Harkaran had an argument with Babu Samrala (from the rival group). So, Harkaran… carried out the firing incident as an act of revenge,” said the SSP.

“Additionally… a social media post was uploaded claiming responsibility for the firing. However, during the investigation, it was found that the post was not uploaded by any gang but by Sukhdeep Singh alias Sipa, resident of Muktsar’s Malwa village, currently residing abroad. He had uploaded the post… to gain popularity in the name of Lawrence Bishnoi,” said SSP Yadav.

Police also booked Rajvir Singh alias Ravi Rajgarh, the jailed accomplice of Lawrence Bishnoi, in the case. Rajgarh is currently lodged in Bathinda jail and was brought on production warrant for interrogation.

Seven accused among the nine held are history-sheeters, said police. Sandeep Singh is booked in 15 previous FIRs, Harkaran in five, Gurtej in five, Ravi Rajgarh in 16, Sukhdeep in two, Jatinder Kumar in two and Rajveer Singh in one.

Police said that the deceased Gurwinder had no criminal record, but his two friends who were at the spot on November 3, were booked in previous cases. Dharamveer Singh alias Dharma who got injured has two previous FIRs against him and Lovepreet Singh has one.

Police registered two FIRs against the accused at Samrala police station, one for murder on November 3 and another for attempt to murder for allegedly opening fire at police on Monday.