3 held for murder of Suresh Raina’s relatives

CHANDIGARH: Punjab chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Wednesday announced that the case of the attack and murder involving cricketer Suresh Raina’s relatives has been solved with the arrest of three members of an inter-state gang of robbers.

Eleven other accused are yet to be arrested, state director general of police Dinkar Gupta said, giving details of the arrests in the crime that took place at Tharyal village in Pathankot district on the night of August 19. Raina’s uncle Ashok Kumar, a contractor, had died on the spot, while his son Kaushal Kumar succumbed to injuries on August 31.

Raina’s aunt Asha Rani is still in hospital in a critical condition. Two others injured in the attack have been discharged from hospital. Soon after the incident, the chief minister had ordered the constitution of a special investigation team (SIT) under IGP, Border Range, Amritsar, with the Pathankot SSP besides SP, investigation, and DSP, Dhar Kalan, as its members, to investigate the case.

Accused held from slum near railway station

On September 15, the SIT received information that three suspects, who were seen at Defence Road on the morning after the incident, were staying in jhuggis near the Pathankot railway station. A raid was conducted and all three were arrested.

According to the DGP, a gold ring bearing the letters AK, a woman’s ring, a gold chain and ₹1,530 were recovered from the accused, identified as Sawan, alias Matching, Muhobbat and Shahrukh Khan, all from Chirawa and Pilani jhuggis in Jhunjhunu district of Rajasthan.

Committed crimes in UP, J&K besides Punjab

Initial investigation has revealed that they were operating as a gang along with others and had committed several such crimes earlier in Uttar Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir and various parts of Punjab, moving to the crime spots in groups of 2-3 following the natural land marks such as canals, railway lines, and high voltage electricity wires.

On the night of August 19, at around 8pm, they moved in groups of 2-3 persons and reached a designated spot and five of the accused entered the house using the ladder from the side of the roof, where they saw three people lying on mats. The suspects hit them on the head before moving into the house, where they attacked two others before escaping with cash and gold ornaments, the DGP said.

The accused then crossed the high tension electricity wires through the field to reach the canal, where they separated in groups of twos and threes to reach the railway station. After distributing the cash and jewellery among themselves, they dispersed.

Further investigation is in progress to arrest the 11 absconders, including one unidentified person, and solve other robberies in which the gang was involved.

{ SURESH RAINA } FORMER INDIAN CRICKETER I appreciate their (police) efforts. Our loss can’t be recovered but this will prevent crimes .