Police arrest man who sheltered Gounder

JAIPUR:THE Sri Ganganagar police on Tuesday arrested Lakhwinder Singh, who allegedly sheltered gangster Vicky Gounder when he was killed in a shootout with the Punjab police last week, officials said.

Lakhwinder was arrested from Hindumalkot in the district, for allegedly sheltering the criminal in his house, police said.

Two other accomplices of Gounder–prema Lahoriya and Sawinder Singh–were also killed in the shootout on January 26 evening in the district’s Pakki village near the Punjab border.

Gounder, whose original name was Harjinder Singh, was wanted in at least 15 cases of murder, kidnapping and robbery.

He emerged as the Punjab police’s prime target after he broke out of the Nabha high-security jail in November 2016.

An FIR about the shootout has been lodged with the Hindumalkot police station on the basis of a report submitted by Bikramjeet Singh, an inspector with the Punjab police, police said.

Surendra Singh Rathore, Sri Gangangar additional superintendent of police, is investigating the case. The FIR has been registered for attempt to murder, assaulting public servant and sections of the Arms Act, police said. Nakath Dan Barhath, additional district magistrate, who is conducting a magisterial enquiry into the shootout, said police have issued summons to the family members of the deceased and will record their statements.

“There are no eye witnesses in the case. There was only an old man in a nearby house and he, too, is unable to coherently tell us anything,” he said, adding that statements of other people connected with the shootout, will also be recorded.

In a presss note ,Gangangar SP said five teams of Punjab police surrounded the house where Vicky Gounder was staying. “Even after being repeatedly told to surrender, Gounder did not give up and kept firing at the police, injuring two policemen seriously,” he said.