Gangster Gounder’s right-hand man held after encounter in Gurdaspur

RAVINDER USED TO MANAGE GOUNDER’S STAY IN HIDEOUTS IN GURDASPUR

GURDASPUR: Elusive Punjab gangster Vicky Gounder’s right-hand man Ravinder Singh, alias Gyan Singh Kharal, was arrested after a brief encounter in Gurdaspur early on Saturday morning.

Ravinder, 25, opened fire on the police team chasing him and was shot in the leg at Bery village near Kahnuwan at 4.45 am. Two of his unidentified accomplices escaped, leaving behind their white Mahindra Bolero.

Vicky Gounder had escaped from the high-security Nabha jail on November 27 last year. Ravinder was with him when they shot dead three members of a rival gang led by Harpreet Singh, alias Subedar, on the Aujla bypass in Gurdaspur on April 20.

Ravinder used to manage Gounder’s stay in hideouts in Gurdaspur. His arrest comes after Punjab Police chief Suresh Arora instructed all district police chiefs in Phillaur last month to arrest Gounder and his accomplices “at any cost”.

The police had information that Ravinder and another gangster, Sukhdev Singh of Bhikhariwal, were moving in a Bolero car in Gurdaspur district.

“Acting on the tip-off,” Gurdaspur police chief Bhupinderjeet Singh Virk said, “the police team reached Bery village. Ravinder and his accomplices were going from Harchowal to Gurdaspur in the Bolero (PB 06 AB 9055) when they saw the police and tried to flee. On being chased, they opened fire. Ravinder was injured in the left thigh when the police returned fire.”

He is undergoing treatment at the local civil hospital and will be questioned and presented in court once he recovers.

“Ravinder changed his look to dodge the police. Earlier, he had long hair and tied a turban but now he has cut his hair and keeps a French beard,” Virk said.

The SSP said the police were raiding the gang’s hideouts to arrest the two accomplices. A .32-bore pistol, three live and three empty cartridges were recovered. A case was registered against Ravinder and his aides under Section 307 of the IPC.

Meanwhile, Gounder has been elusive since he escaped from Nabha jail but is believed to be hiding in Punjab. His accomplices and he use social media, including Facebook, to flaunt the crimes the gang commits.