Wanted in Punjab,Haryana,Chandigarh,Delhi and other states,this gang with two dozen unlikely young members was responsible for over 35 highway robberies,several murders,kidnappings,extortion and half a dozen bank heists. Now,with the alleged gang leader killed and his predecessor and many other members in jail,the Chandigarh police believe they have reached the end of a chase that had lasted several years and during which several lives had been lost. They were unlikely gangsters because they came from police,sports and academic backgrounds. Two of them were sons of policemen. Two including one policemans son were national-level hammer throwers,while the other policemans son was a shot-putter and a law student. The gang also included a kabaddi player. All of them had a weakness for sophisticated weapons and fast cars,and they began by snatching cars on highways,police say. Gurshahid Singh Pawar alias Shera,the alleged kingpin who was shot dead by the police on September 6,was the son of a Milkfed employee. He belonged to village Khubban in Fazilka and studied in Khalsa College,Ferozepur,and SGGS College in Chandigarh. Shera had cleared IELTS and was planning to go to New Zealand when a meeting with gangster Jai Pal Singh changed his life,police say. Shera and Jai Pal were the two hammer throwers,the latter a former junior national champion,and they met at a sports event. Jai Pal,son of a Punjab police sub-inspector,is an undergraduate from Ferozepur. He had been leading a highway gang along with Chandu alias Chand Miyaan since 2004 and roped Shera in,police say. Jai Pal has been in jail since 2009 and the leadership fell on Sheras shoulders,they say. Harinder Singh Tinu,the former shot-putter said to be in the gang,was pursuing law in Chandigarh. He is the son of Chandigarh police inspector Tarsem Rana,who incidentally was arrested this week by the Panchkula police for aiding a person impersonating an IPS officer. Tinus younger brother too is in jail for kidnapping. When Shera joined,the gang included Rajiv Raja alias Lucky,Bhupinder Singh Bhuppi and Ramandeep alias Rommi. Police say Jai Pal used Shera to help Raja escape from the custody of Barnala police and the gang subsequently took to robbing banks. Police blame this gang for the robbery of a gun house in Hoshiarpur after which it unleashed a spate of crimes in and around Chandigarh. They robbed the State Bank of India in Panchkula in broad daylight,followed by another bank heist in Mohali and the robbery of an Airtel showroom of Rs 4.5 lakh,police say,citing also kidnappings,extortion and snatching of luxury cars from highways. They would follow cars from Delhi,especially from the airport that were loaded with stuff. They would stop the car as if to ask for directions,then would force it to park on the side. The car would be looted and if it was a luxury car they would take it too, says inspector Amanjot Singh of Chandigarh police. They once bragged that they never touched a vehicle that could be bought for less than Rs 15 lakh. The Chandigarh police thought they had busted the gang three years ago when they arrested its key members but most of them got away. On July 1,2009,the special crime investigation cell rounded up Jai Pal,Shera,Tinu and a fourth member who,police say,has since reformed. By then,the gang was wanted across Punjab and Haryana,besides Delhi. The police recovered two revolvers made by Germanys Armenius Company,one of Smith & Wesson and a pistol along with cash. Once arrested by the Chandigarh police,they were taken on production warrants in 27 police stations in Punjab,Haryana and Delhi. In most cases they were acquitted with witnesses reluctant to speak against them. In other cases they got bail, says Chandigarhs inspector Singh. On July 16,2010,the court of judicial magistrate Sunil Kumar acquitted all four in one of the cases they faced. Having got bail in other cases,Shera,Tinu and the now reformed gangster walked out,with Shera going on to jump bail. Jai Pal has remained in jail since while Tinu is still at large. Police say Shera stepped into Jai Pals shoes and shifted his base to Bathinda last year. Here the gang was allegedly involved in kidnappings,dacoities and robberies. In 2012 alone,the gang is said to have committed at least a dozen crimes. Among the crimes police cite is the killing of one of the gangs own members,Amandeep Singh Deora alias Happy,in Ferozepur in July because of his rising clout within. There was also a girls abduction in Chandigarh. Shera and a new recruit,Gurpreet Singh Sekhon,allegedly picked up Namdeek Kaur,distantly related to Shera and a friend of Gurpreet,and sped away in a Fortuner,firing in the air when Ferozepur police chased them. Sheras run ended on September 6. ASP of Bathinda Kuldip Singh Chahal was on his way home when he spotted the Fortuner with Shera and Namdeek inside. The police tried to stop them and say Shera started firing and was shot dead in retaliatory fire. Namdeek was arrested. Jai Pal is in jail and so are Chandu and Rajiv Raja. It was Shera who was planning every robbery and dacoity and keeping the gang together. With him out of the picture,the gang is now disbanded and it is just a matter of time before the others are nabbed, said Dr Sukhchain Singh Gill,SSP,Bathinda.
