Assailant hurt in retaliatory fire got treated at Batala hospital
POLICE EXPLORING ACTION AGAINST HEALTHCARE FACILITY AS STAFF DID NOT INFORM THEM BEFORE TREATING THE SUSPECT WITH BULLET INJURIES
AMRITSAR : One of the four assailants, who gunned down gangster Ranbir Singh, alias Rana Kandowalia at a private hospital in Amritsar on August 3, went to a healthcare facility in Batala to get treatment and stayed there for at least two hours as he was injured in retaliatory firing, it is learnt.
Kandowalia’s close aide Tejbir Singh alias Teji, a leader of the Students Organisation of India (SOI), the student wing of the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), had fired at the assailants in defence. Teji and a hospital guard were also injured in the firing.
Batala senior superintendent of police (SSP) Rashpal Singh said, “The hospital staff didn’t inform us even as the injured assailant stayed there for two hours.”
The Amritsar commissionerate police are also exploring options to take action against the hospital for not informing the local cops before treating a person with bullet injuries.
Amritsar deputy commissioner of police (investigation) Mukhwinder Singh Bhullar said, “We are hopeful of nabbing the accused soon. We have also applied in a local court for bringing gangster Jaggu Bhagwanpuria on production warrant from Delhi’s Tihar jail.”
Kandowalia, who was facing nearly 15 criminal cases, including that of murder and attempt to murder, was fired upon by some assailants at a private hospital where had gone to enquire about his cousin sister’s health. The assailants pumped six bullets into his body.
Aide gunned down days before gangster’s killing
The police said an associate of Rana Kandowalia was gunned down by two unidentified bikeborne men in broad daylight at a village in Batala sub-division in Gurdaspur district four days before the gangster’s murder.
The victim, Satnam Singh, alias Sattu of Fatehgarh Churian town, was driving a Mahindra Scorpio SUV. Sattu, a property dealer, was an aide of gangster Jaggu Bhagwanpuria before his shifted his loyalties towards Kandowalia, police said.
The police suspect that same people are behind both the killings and the two cases are interlinked. An official said Sattu had forewarned Kandowalia of a possible attack on him nearly two weeks ago.
“Sattu may have been killed for tipping Kandowalia about a possible attack on him,” said a senior police official.