In a major development, an encounter broke out in Ludhiana's Bagge Kalan after Police came face to face with one of the gang members of the infamous Gopi Lahoria gang. Encounter erupted when the Police party of Ludhiana had gone for the recovery of weapons during an investigation in a case involving a gang member firing on a house in Subhash Nagar. One gang member of the infamous Gopi Lahoria gang was critically injured in crossfire. One police personnel narrowly escapes as a round crossed through his turban. Multiple rounds were fired from both sides, 1 illegal weapon and several rounds were recovered from the accused Sumit. Other members of his gang were also arrested earlier in FIR 62/25 PS Tibba.
As per the information received, the accused, Suraj—who was arrested a day earlier—had confessed during interrogation that additional weapons were concealed in Bagge Kalan village. Acting on this lead, a police party escorted Suraj to the location to recover the weapons. However, the situation quickly escalated when Suraj, allegedly carrying a loaded weapon, opened fire on the police. The police immediately retaliated with four rounds of fire, during which the accused Suraj sustained injuries. He was promptly shifted to Civil Hospital for treatment.
Police Commissioner Swapan Sharma, addressing the media, confirmed that two illegal weapons were recovered from the spot. He stated that Suraj is a habitual offender with 8 to 10 criminal cases already registered against him, including charges of attempted murder, armed robbery, and highway crimes. Suraj was previously arrested from Dehradun and has known links with the Gopi Lahoria gang.
Commissioner Sharma added that further interrogation is underway to uncover additional leads related to the gang's activities across Punjab.