Gangster Preet Sekhon, 2 aides held with arms
SEKHON, WHO IS WANTED IN OVER A DOZEN CRIMINAL CASES, MOSTLY OF MURDER AND EXTORTION, IS PRIME ACCUSED IN THE MAY 28 PATTI SHOOTOUT
AMRITSAR: Police on Tuesday arrested notorious gangster Daya Singh, alias Preet Sekhon, and his two aides from Chamiari village, falling under the Ajnala sub-division.
Sekhon is wanted in more than a dozen criminal cases, mostly of murder and extortion. The other two arrested are gangster Jarmanjit Singh alias Nikka Khaduria of Chamba Khurd village in Tarn Taran and one Gurlal Singh of Kamalpur village in Tarn Taran.
Sekhon, who is the prime accused in the May-28 Patti shootout in which an Akali leader and his aide were killed, had been playing a cat-and-mouse game with the Punjab Police since December 2019. The police also recovered five pistols, a rifle, three mobile phones, a cache of bullets, two internet dongles, and a Maruti Swift car.
Amritsar rural police and the organised crime control unit had a tip-off that the gangster had taken shelter in a house at Chamiari village. A team of nearly 100 policemen, including several deputy superintendents of police (DSPs) and station house officers (SHOs), sealed the entire village. Sources said, the gangster also opened fire at the police team and tried to flee, but to no avail.
Before being nabbed, Sekhon posted a post on his Facebook page about being surrounded by police. According to police, gangster Nikka was also involved in Patti shootout.
On May 28, two unidentified car-borne men opened indiscriminate fire at Amandeep Singh alias Aman Fauji (28), an Akali worker and a close aide of former minister Adesh Pratap Singh Kairon’s political adviser Gurmukh Singh Ghulla, and Prabhjit Singh, alias Pooran (27), killing them on the spot. One Samsher Singh alias Shera (30) had received bullet injury in the attack outside a tomb at Nadohar Chowk in Patti.
Soon after the killing, two Facebook posts surfaced, one from a user who claimed himself from Jaggu Bhagwanpuria gang and another from an account named after Preet Sekhon, claiming responsibility for the murders.
Later, police identified Sekhon as the shooter and he reportedly committed the crime for ₹10 lakh at the ‘instance’ of gangster Lakhbir Singh alias Landa, who lives Canada.
According to the police, Sekhon had allegedly killed his own sister and her mother-inlaw in a Tarn Taran village in 2011. A case in this regard was registered at Tarn Taran Sadar police station. He reportedly came out of jail in 2018. Hailing from Sangna village in Amritsar, Sekhon had allegedly killed one Harjit Singh in Amritsar in December 2019. Sekhon was also wanted for shooting dead a bouncer in Amritsar in October last year.
Sekhon was also booked on July 14 this year for allegedly opening fire at the Beas residence of singer Prem Dhillon, currently living in Canada. The singer’s family had a narrow escape in the attack. Sekhon had allegedly demanded ₹10 lakh from Prem Dhillon on July 2.
DGP Dinkar Gupta said, “Gurlal, who is on parole and accused in several cases, had given shelter to Sekhon and Nikka at his in-laws’ house in the village.”