Rakesh Gaggi murder: Key shooter arrested from Kharar

Mohali: In a major breakthrough, the Anti-Gangster Task Force (AGTF), Punjab, has arrested one of the main shooters allegedly involved in the sensational murder of Rakesh Kumar alias Gaggi at Khwaja Basal village in Una, Himachal Pradesh.The accused shooter was arrested from Kharar in Mohali. The police also recovered a .32 bore country-made pistol along with six live cartridges from his possession, Gaurav Yadav, director general of police, Punjab, said here on Friday.The arrested accused has been identified as Vipan Kumar, a resident of Bassi Muda in Baghpur Mandir, Hoshiarpur.DGP Yadav said the preliminary investigations revealed that the killing was fallout of gang rivalry between foreign-based gangsters Laddi Bhajal alias Kooner and Monu Gujjar (of the Ravi Balachauria gang) and Babbi Rana (of the Sonu Khatri gang).The deceased, Rakesh Kumar, was reportedly an associate of Babbi Rana, who is considered a close aide of Sonu Khatri."The arrest marks an important step in cracking down on organised criminal networks. Further investigations are underway to establish forward and backward linkages," said the DGP.Additional director general of police (AGTF) Pramod Ban said acting on reliable inputs, a police team led by DSP (AGTF) Rajan Parminder arrested the accused from near Khanpur village in Kharar.Ban said Vipan Kumar had a criminal background and was wanted in multiple cases, including attempt to murder, and under the Arms Act and NDPS Act, in Punjab and Himachal Pradesh.A fresh case under Section 25 of the Arms Act has been registered against Vipan Kumar at City police station in Kharar, Mohali, the police added.MSID:: 123585858 413 |