Gangsters Jaipal, Dhilwan booked for threatening witness
On May 2, 2017, six armed men had looted ₹1.33 crore from a cash van outside a private university on the PatialaChandigarh highway
PATIALA: Two A-category gangsters of Punjab, including most wanted Jaipal Bhullar, were booked on Friday for threatening a key witness in the Rs 1.33-crore robbery from an Axis Bank cash van outside Chitkara University campus in Banur, 40km from Patiala, in 2017.
On May 2, 2017, six armed men looted Rs 1.33 crore from the cash van outside the private university on the Patiala-Chandigarh highway. The case was handed over to Punjab Police’s organised crime control unit (OCCU).
The case was registered against the gangsters on the complaint of key witness Shamsher Singh, who works as a security guard at Chitkara University.
Patiala senior superintendent of police Sandeep Kumar Garg said Shamsher has accused Jaipal and other gangsters of threatening him with dire consequences for deposing against them in court.
“The gangsters threatened him at his house besides his family members and friends. Though Jaipal is absconding, the other accused are lodged in different jails of Punjab,” the SSP said.
Steps taken to protect key witness
The police have started investigation and steps have been taken to ensure the safety of the key witness and his relatives. The case was registered under Sections 195-A (Threatening any person to give false evidence) and 120-B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code.
Besides Jaipal Bhullar, the accused have been identified as A-category gangster Tirath Singh Dhilwan, Sukhwant Narula, Manish Thakur, Sandeep Kumar, Sikander Singh, Darshan Singh, Lucky Rajput, Gagandeep Singh and Jaspreet Singh.
In 2018, police brought hardcore gangster Dhilwan, 28, to Patiala on production warrant for interrogation during which he confessed to his role in the robbery along with Bhullar.
Jaipal behind killing of two ASIs in Ludhiana
On May 15, 2021, Jaipal Bhullar gunned down two assistant sub-inspectors (ASIs) of the crime investigation agency (CIA) in Jagraon town of Ludhiana district.
Jaipal was an accomplice of gangsters Vicky Gounder and Prema Lahoria, who were killed in a police encounter in 2018. He is also wanted for the murder of gangster Sukha Kahlwan in 2015, the Nabha jailbreak case of 2016 and the murder of gangster Jaswinder Singh Rocky in the same year.