Punjab Police arrests 2 associates of gangster Jaipal Bhullar for killings of ASIs in Jagraon shootout

The two main accused in the killing of Central Intelligence Agency's (CIA) Assistant Sub Inspectors (ASIs)-- Bhagwan Singh and Dalwinderjit Singh-- have been arrested by Punjab Police on Saturday.

The ASIs had been gunned down in cold blood in Jagraon Grain Market on May 15.

According to an official release, Punjab Police had announced a reward of Rs 2 lakh each for the information of the accused-- Baljinder Singh alias Babbi and Darshan Singh. They were both associated with the gangster and drug smuggler Jaipal Bhullar.

The police nabbed them from Dabra in Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh on Friday evening. Harcharan Singh, who had allegedly given them shelter, has also been arrested.

While giving details of the investigation, Director General of Police (DGP) Dinkar Gupta said, "Preliminary questioning of the suspects has revealed that on the fateful day Baljinder came to Jagraon Grain Market in his Canter vehicle for providing safe transportation to Jaipal and Jassi to a hideout outside the state. Whereas Darshan met them at the hideout. He had brought clothes for the gangster and his associate."

Gupta informed that the two ASIs were on duty that day and had decided to confront the driver on getting suspicious after seeing drugs in the canter vehicle.

"An apparently cornered Darshan opened fire at the ASIs from his 0.32 revolver and later fled the scene, along with Jaipal and Jassi, in their car. Babbi, who fled the spot in the Canter vehicle, joined the others after some distance. All of them fled towards Haryana and Rajasthan," Gupta added.

On receiving an intelligence input of the possibility of the suspects hiding in and around Madhya Pradesh's Gwalior, a team from the Organised Crime Control Unit (OCCU), led by Inspector Pushpinder Singh, was immediately dispatched for investigation.

"After investigation for a few days, the OCCU team managed to track the suspects and arrested them from a platform at Dabra Railway station near Gwalior last evening. The suspects were planning to board a train to Maharashtra", Gupta said.

Gupta also informed that the duo has had a criminal past and that both have also been convicted in two different murder cases earlier.

"In fact, they come in contact with each other while undergoing their conviction in jail. Darshan was granted remission while undergoing his sentence, while Baljinder Singh had been released on bail by the High court after his conviction by the Sessions court in Moga," he added.

Darshan reportedly has two more criminal cases registered against him and was also involved in a case of opium smuggling recently, the police said.

The DGP also mentioned that Jaipal Bhullar is one of the few gangsters who have managed to elude arrest so far.

"While he remains at large, his close associate, Gavi, was arrested by Punjab Police from Jamshedpur last month. Gavi was wanted in the case of recovery of 11 kg heroin in Jalandhar district," he said.

Both Jaipal and Gavi have close links with drug smugglers based in Pakistan and Jammu, the DGP informed.

Jaspreet alias Jassi, another of their associate, is also absconding after the Jagraon shootout. He was earlier arrested in a case of smuggling of heroin in Mohali and is also a wanted suspect in a case of kidnapping, the police said.

Gupta said that a massive manhunt is still on for the absconding suspects and that he is confident that they too would be arrested soon. Punjab Police has also announced a reward of Rs 10 lakh and Rs 5 lakh for the arrest of Jaipal Bhullar and Jaspreet respectively.

( With inputs from ANI )