Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann on Wednesday said that the murder of two police personnel in Gurdaspur, near the Indo-Pak border, was carried out by Pakistan, as the culprits were directly connected to their handlers in Pakistan. Speaking PAP Ground in Jalandhar, the Chief Minister said that one of the accused, Ranjeet Singh, was killed in an encounter earlier in the day, while two others have been arrested. The Chief Minister said that the people who are trying to disrupt the peace in Punjab will not be spared and that Pakistan is behind the murder of the two police personnel to terrorize the police force.
Giving more information about the incident, the police said that the encounter occurred around 3 AM in the Purana Shala area. Ranjeet Singh, one of the accused in the murder of ASI Gurnam Singh and Home Guard jawan Ashok Kumar in Adhian village in Gurdaspur was surrounded by the CIA team, and when he allegedly opened fire, the police also fired. Ranjeet was killed in the crossfire, and five police personnel, including CIA in-charge Inspector Gurmeet Singh, were injured, while Dilawar Singh has been arrested.
DIG Sandeep Goyal said that the probe has revealed that Pakistan’s intelligence agency ISI was involved in the case, and they lured the accused with money. The accused were in touch with their ISI handlers, as per the police.
In the background of the case, ASI Gurnam Singh and Home Guard Ashok Kumar were shot dead at a police station in Adhian village on Sunday morning. Two Pakistan-based groups later took responsibility for the attack. In a later development, Pakistani don Shahzad Bhatti has released a video showing the killing and an audio message in which he accused Punjab Police of conducting fake encounters and said the attack was in retaliation for harassment.
