NIA arrests arms supplier in Punjab RSS leader’s killing
The NIA on Tuesday arrested a Meerut resident for allegedly supplying a gun to the main accused in the killing of an RSS worker in Punjab in October, the agency said.
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) last month took over the probe into the killing of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) worker Ravinder Gosain.
Pahar Singh, 48, was arrested for supplying a country-made weapon to the main accused Hardeep Singh alias Shera, the NIA said in a statement.
Another suspect in the case, Malook, managed to flee on Sunday when a joint team of the NIA and the Uttar Pradesh police had gone to arrest him from a Ghaziabad village.
The NIA said their probe has revealed that Hardeep Singh had visited Meerut on three occasions during in the last two years to procure weapons to carry out the targeted killings of members of the RSS and other organisations.
“Around April or May this year, Hardeep Singh procured a .315 bore country-made weapon from Pahar Singh at his house. This weapon was recovered and seized at the instance of Hardeep Singh subsequent to his arrest by the Punjab police last month,” the NIA statement has also revealed.
Pahar Singh is also an accused in another case registered under the Arms Act in nearby Amroha district three months back.
He will now be produced before the Special NIA Court in Mohali on Wednesday.
MOB HAD OBSTRUCTED NIA RAID
“During the raid on Sunday, a large crowd of men and women tried to obstruct the local police and the NIA team. Some people in the mob started firing . The firing was followed by stone pelting,” the NIA had said in a statement.
When the mob allegedly blocked roads, the police and NIA men had to resort to aerial firing in self-defence.
A UP police constable Tahjib Khan had suffered injury in his leg and an official vehicle was damaged.
Earlier, Punjab Police had arrested two suspects, Ramandeep Singh and Hardeep Singh of Italy (his parents live in Amloh of Fatehgarh Sahib), for their alleged involvement in the killing. During interrogation of the Punjab-based accused, names of some suspects from western UP emerged . The agency has been raiding various places in Meerut since Saturday. On getting more leads, a raid was conducted at the residence of suspect Malook, the NIA’s spokesman had said.
But Malook’s brother Naushad said the teams were mostly dressed in civilian clothes. “They were asking for my brother and had jumped into our house from nearby houses,” he had said.
When the cops were leaving after picking up Malook, villagers questioned them about his offence. When they didn’t reply, it created resentment, he said. And in the melee, Malook fled.
Naushad said Malook was involved in a murder case in 2011, for which he was lodged in jail and freed nine months ago. “He operates a small dairy business and was at home when police arrived. We don’t know his whereabouts. He is being implicated in a false case,” he said.
ARM SUPPLIER PAHAR SINGH IS ALSO AN ACCUSED IN ANOTHER CASE REGISTERED UNDER THE ARMS ACT IN UP’S AMROHA DISTRICT