Police suspect attempt was made on Pehalwan’s life in November last year
FARIDKOT: The police have started investigating an incident of firing at a friend of slain Faridkot Youth Congress president Gurlal Singh Pehalwan in November last year, a day after three persons were arrested in New Delhi in the murder case.
The firing was possibly an attempt to eliminate the Youth Congress leader who was shot dead by two bike-borne assailants in Faridkot city on Thursday, the police said.
On November 11, two unidentified men opened fire at Pehalwan’s friend Rajat Kumar and one Amit Kumar on Talwandi road. Rajat sustained two bullet injuries on his leg. Rajat told the police that he along with Pehlwan and Amit left in a vehicle after attending the birthday party of a friend, but they dropped Pehlwan on the way. Later, when he along with Amit reached near his house, two men opened fire on the vehicle, he had said.
A few hours after Pehlwan’s murder, a post on a purported Facebook page of gangster Lawrence Bishnoi, who is currently lodged in Rajasthan’s Ajmer jail, linked the crime with the death of Bishnoi’s aide Gurlal Brar, a former state president of the Students Organisation of Panjab University (SOPU). Brar was killed outside a mall in Industrial Area, Chandigarh, in October 2020.
After arresting the three men, the Delhi Police claimed the murder was orchestrated by Goldy Brar, a wanted criminal based in Canada, with the help of Bishnoi to avenge the murder of his cousin Gurlal Brar.
Jhajjar gangster sent to police remand till Feb 25
The Faridkot police on Monday brought gangster Sawan JD, alias Ashish of Haryana’s Jhajjar on production warrant from the Gurugram jail in connection with the November 11 firing incident. They produced him before chief judicial magistrate Harvinder Singh Sindhia who sent him to remand till February 25.
The Faridkot police has already named gangster Pawan Nehra and Haripal Singh as accused in the case. Nehra, who works for Bishnoi, is also an accused in murder case of Ranjit Singh, alias Rana Sidhu, who was shot dead by four armed assailants at Aulakh village on October 22. Rana was also killed to avenge Brar’s murder. Bishnoi had also taken the responsibility for the crime on Facebook.
SP Sewa Singh Malhi said they will interrogate Sawan in the case. “We have not interrogated Nehra so far. Sawan’s questioning may provide some leads. We have also initiated the process to bring the three accused arrested by the Delhi Police in Pehalwan’s murder,” he added.