Pistols seized from carjackers raise big questions, say Mohali police
MOHALI:TWO days after police got into an encounter with an alleged gang of carjackers, of whom one was killed and two others were arrested on Saturday, cops are focusing on how they had procured the two Chinese pistols recovered from them.
These .30 bore pistols were allegedly used by Samuel Masih alias Sunny, who was killed, Goldy Masih and Amanpreet, to fire at Mohali cops who chased them 100 km to Naina Devi in Himachal Pradesh after they snatched a car in Mohali. Though these weapons are now not the most popular with criminals, Punjab is no stranger to these pistols as these were used by Khalistani militants in 1980s and ’90 and sourced from Pakistan. It is suspected that the carjackers procured these pistols from someone in Punjab or from Jammu and Kashmir, where they used to sell the stolen vehicles.
“The carjackers fired at us from what we call Chinese star pistols (in common police lingo). These weapons were commonly used in Punjab during the terrorism days and were supplied from Pakistan,” said Ramandeep Singh, deputy superintendent of police (DSP), Mohali (city), who was part of the encounter team.
Sunny belonged to Gurdaspur district, as does Goldy, while Amanpreet is from Morinda in Rupnagar. “The bullet for these pistols is larger than usual, and 11 bullets can be loaded in a magazine. These were used mostly between 1989 and 1993, and have not been recovered often since then, though we have recovered .30 bore countrymade pistols,” the DSP further said. “The ‘star’ pistols are not available with every weapon seller, and can be obtained either through resale or auctioning by police,” said another who did not wish to be named. “We are probing if these men were working for a particular gang as the weapons recovered from them are very sophisticated and deadly,” said Kuldeep Singh Chahal, senior superintendent of police (SSP), Mohali.
The Himachal police are investigating by visiting some places as per the information gathered from two arrested men, to corroborate the event. “We have found that the carjackers used to take vehicles from Punjab to sell in Jammu and Kashmir,” said the SSP. DSP Ramandeep Singh said, “The Maruti Ritz (with which the men intercepted a Verna they took away) was taken on rent of Rs 1,200 per day. They planned to sell the Verna in J&K.”
‘SUNNY FIRED FIRST’
Meanwhile, SSP Chahal said the carjackers, specifically Sunny who was shot dead, “fired first”, and that the cops only retaliated.
Chahal, addressing a press conference in Mohali, stressed, “We fired in self-defence.”
The family of Sunny has been claiming that he was innocent and was killed in a fake encounter. The sub-divisional magistrate of Bilaspur (Naina Devi falls in this district) is conducting a judicial inquiry into the encounter.
Chahal added, “Even the complainant Navneet (whose Verna car was snatched) has said that it was Sunny who fired to scare them.”
As per the family, Sunny had left home on July 11, stating that he is going for job interview at a highway toll plaza. As for the family claim that Sunny was never summoned by the police, Chahal said, “A team from Himachal Pradesh had raided his house in Gurdaspur about five days ago.”