Hindustan Times (Amritsar)

2 student leaders held for providing drugs to gangsters

- HT Correspond­ent patiala@hindustant­imes.com n

PATIALA: Two top leaders of Gandhi Group Students Union (G GS U )— which derives its name from Rupinder Gandhi, a slain campus leader who had a criminal record—were arrested by the police on charges of providing drugs and money to gangsters, from a dhaba near Rajpura on Tuesday. They are Armandeep Singh Cheema of Patiala, who is president of theGGSU’ s Chandigarh campus unit of Pan jab University, and Harman SinghV ir k of Samana, who is chief patron of the union.

Police also claimed recovery of 700 grams of drug powder and two suspicious passports from the two men, who actively participat­ed in recent student council elections at PU in Chandigarh.

“During interrogat­ion, they have confessed that they used to supply drugs to Kulpreet Singh alias Ne eta Deol, one of the escapees in last year’s Na bhajai lbreak ,” said S PH ar win der Singh Virk. “They also provided financial assistance to Deol and had links with other gangsters, including Gurpreet Singh Sekhon and Ricky Moga.”

As for the passports, these are in the names of Kul winder Singh of Sidhana village in Bathinda district, who is also accused in the jailbreak case, and one Jasdeep Kaur. “Acting on the tip-off and some vital clues, a team led by Bikramjit Singh, in-charge, crime investigat­ion agency (CIA )-2, was tracing their movements ,” th eSP said. Their car too was impounded. “We will seek their remand for further investigat­ion.”

The case against them has been registered under sections 382 (theft after preparatio­n made for causing death or hurt), 384 (extortion), 392 (robbery) and 506 (criminal intimidati­on), besides 120B (criminal conspiracy), 148 (rioting) and 149 (unlawful assembly), of the Indian Penal Code. Sections of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotrop­ic Substances (NDPS) Act and Arms Act have also been pressed in the FIR at Rajpura sadar police station.

Police said Cheema was recently released on bail from the Patiala jail in Arms Act case.

The GGSU was founded by Rupinder Gandhi, shot dead in 2003 in alleged gang war, who faced cases of attempt to murder among others. His elder brother Manminder Gandhi, who had visited PU campus during the student polls, was in August shot dead outside his home in Rasoolpur village of Khanna.

4 HELD FOR SHELTERING MURDERERSI­N MOGA VILLAGE

MO GA: The district police on Tuesday arrested four men from Daudhar village in Moga for allegedly sheltering and arranging weapons for gangsters.

The accused are Rupinder Singh of Jagraon, Atinderpal Singh and Jagga Singh of Buttar K alan village here, and Man deep Singh of Machhike.

Police said they seized two .12-bore rifles, a pistol and 650 intoxicati­on pills from the men.

Raj Jit Singh, SSP, said a team led by special staff in-charge Kikkar Singh conducted a raid at an isolated rest house near ac anal in Daudhar village where the men were “hatching a conspiracy to commit a crime”.

“During interrogat­ion, Ru pinder admitted to having provided shelter to Gagna Hathoor, Navdeep Na vi and Honey Sing haft er they had shot dead rival gangster Kuldeep Singh Keepa at Badhni Kalan village in January this year,” he said.

 ??  ?? Arman Cheema
Arman Cheema
 ??  ?? Harman Virk
Harman Virk

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