2 DAYS BEFORE RINDA’S DEATH, HIS AIDE WAS KILLED IN ITALY: PUNJAB POLICE
Reports suggest Happy Sanghera of Ferozepur was killed in Italy on Nov 17; Mohali RPG attack mastermind Landa has owned up killing saying Happy had become police informer, say cops
AMRITSAR : A day after wanted Khalistani terrorist Harvinder Singh Rinda died at a Lahore hospital. reports surfaced on Sunday that his close associate gangster Happy Sanghera had been killed in Italy. Sanghera, a resident of Ferozepur district, was killed three days ago, said a police official. Gangster Lakhbir Singh alias Landa has owned up killing, saying that Happy had turned a police informer.
AMRITSAR : A day after Pakistan-based gangster-turned-terrorist Harvinder Singh Rinda allegedly died of a drug overdose in Pakistan, reports surfaced on Sunday that his close associate gangster Happy Sanghera had also been killed in Italy.
Sanghera, a resident of Bastiwala village near Makhu in Ferozepur district, had fled to Italy after he was nominated in an attempted murder case registered at Harike Police station of Tarn Taran district around two years ago, sources said.
A senior Punjab Police official, who did not wish to be named, said, “We have got information that Sanghera was allegedly killed at the behest of gangster Lakhbir Singh alias Landa. Today, our team visited Sanghera’s home and talked to his family members. The family has yet not got any official intimation from the Centre government about his death. When Sanghera was in India, he used to be an associate of Landa. As per our records, he was staying in Italy.”
Landa, who is the mastermind of the rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) attack on the Mohali Punjab Police Intelligence headquarters, has also purportedly claimed responsibility for Sanghera’s killing.
A Facebook post in the name of Landa Harike surfaced on Sunday. The post claimed that Sanghera had become an ‘agent of the Delhi Special Cell’ and he had given ‘information’ about ‘our brother Arshdeep Bathi’ and others to the Delhi police.
Deputy inspector general (DIG), Ferozepur range, Ranjit Singh Dhillon said they were verifying the facts in the post.
Punjab police sources said Landa had given money to someone to kill Sanghera in Italy around 15 days ago.
“Sanghera was killed in Italy around three days ago. Landa suspected that Sanghera had been providing secret information to the Delhi police. Around two years ago, Sanghera, who has been facing several criminal cases, fled to Italy. He and Landa had been making ransom calls to businessmen, doctors and other people in Punjab for the last around one year. Both Landa and Sanghera are associates of Rinda. Sanghera is also wanted in Punjab for smuggling arms, ammunition and drugs from across the border,” sources in the Punjab police said. Landa and Sanghera were close friends in India..
Earlier, one more Facebook post had surfaced in which Landa had claimed that Rinda was still alive in Pakistan. Landa, who’s wanted in around 50 criminal cases in Punjab, fled to Canada.
He is also accused of planting an improvised explosive device (IED) under the SUV of a sub-inspector in Amritsar.
A Facebook post in Landa’s name also claimed responsibility for the recent killing of Shiv Sena leader Sudhir Suri.