‘Will be killed in fake encounter’: Ludhiana gangster Neutron who threatened Punjab Police via videos, dies in hospital

Meanwhile, the deceased gangster’s counsel, Sahil Sharma, said they would be filing a petition in the Punjab and Haryana High Court on Wednesday, demanding a high-level CBI probe into the custodial death.

He claimed that around two months ago, Sagar was “tortured” in Goindwal Sahib jail (Tarn Taran district), where he was lodged earlier. “He suffered severe stomach injuries due to the torture inside Goindwal Sahib jail. He was mercilessly thrashed. We had him transferred to Sangrur jail, and he later recovered completely. He was fit when he appeared for a court hearing in Ludhiana in January. Now, the police claim he suffered a severe diabetes attack, leading to kidney failure. He was admitted to Rajindra Hospital, Patiala, for the past two to three days, but the police did not inform his family. They only informed them last night when his condition deteriorated and he was taken to PGIMER. By the time his family reached, he had died,” Sharma said.

Arrest and criminal history

Neutron was arrested from Bijnor, Uttar Pradesh, on August 20 last year in a joint operation by Ludhiana Police and the counter-intelligence wing. Police had alleged he had links with jailed gangster Boota Khan, also known as Bagga, and executed most of his crimes under Khan’s directions.

Neutron was wanted in at least 18 cases, including murder, attempt to murder, dacoity, and weapons smuggling. On June 25 last year, he had posted a video on social media claiming that the police had falsely implicated his wife in a murder case. In the video, he offered to surrender if the police released his wife and warned that if they did not, he would “smuggle more weapons and teach them a lesson.”

He had also alleged that police would soon kill him in a fake encounter. He had added that he wanted to return to the mainstream for the sake of his family and daughter, but the police were dragging him and his family into false cases.

He was released on bail in March 2024. Soon after, on April 7, he and his accomplices allegedly attempted to murder a family in Ludhiana’s Dugri area, leading to the death of an elderly woman, Surjit Kaur. Following her death, murder charges were added to the FIR, and Neutron went on the run before being arrested in Uttar Pradesh in August last year.

After the April 7 incident, four more FIRs were lodged against him and his aides in Punjab and Uttar Pradesh, including one for an alleged carjacking in UP.

Links to gang violence

On July 12 last year, Ludhiana Police arrested his brother, Sumit Kumar alias Ultron, and three other aides for allegedly opening fire outside the house of his rival, Navi, before fleeing on a bike. Later, on August 1, Khanna Police arrested members of his gang for allegedly opening fire at AS College, Khanna, injuring at least two people.

Ludhiana DCP Jaskiranjit Singh Teja said Neutron entered the world of crime as a teenager. He was first lodged in Borstal jail in 2017-18 for an attempt to murder case. After securing bail, he was arrested again in a murder case and transferred to Amritsar jail, where he came into contact with Boota Khan and joined his gang.

DCP Teja added that Neutron named himself after the scientific term “neutron” to signify that he was not a small-time criminal but a “big shot, not less than any bomb.”

In February 2023, two of his aides were arrested with six illegal weapons allegedly smuggled from Madhya Pradesh on Neutron’s directions while he was lodged in Nabha jail. Police claimed he used Instagram to strike the weapons deal.