Main accused of Batala firing incident held from Indo-Bhutan border

The main accused in the recent firing incident in Batala near Gurdaspur was arrested from the Indo-Bhutan Border in Alipurduar district in West Bengal, officials from Punjab Police said on Friday.Punjab Director General of Police DGP Gaurav Yadav said the 21-year-old arrested accused has a criminal background and he was out on bail in a murder case.

The main accused in the recent firing incident in Batala near Gurdaspur was arrested from the Indo-Bhutan Border in Alipurduar district in West Bengal, officials from Punjab Police said on Friday.

Punjab Director General of Police (DGP) Gaurav Yadav said the 21-year-old arrested accused has a criminal background and he was out on bail in a murder case. DGP Yadav, in an official statement, said based on technical inputs and evidence, the Counter Intelligence, Punjab had located the accused person in the Alipurduar district of West Bengal.

''Batala Police immediately dispatched a team for West Bengal, and also shared the pinpointed information with them,'' he said.

He said the Punjab Police in coordination with central agencies and West Bengal Police have arrested the accused person. He also thanked the DGP of West Bengal for extending all kinds of cooperation.

''The preliminary investigations revealed that the entire module was being handled from abroad and the arrested accused was receiving funds from foreign-based handlers to commit these kinds of crimes,'' said the DGP, while adding that investigation to establish a money trail is going on.

Batala Senior Superintendent of Police Ashwini Gotyal said the police are working on different leads and efforts are on to nab the remaining accused persons in this case.

Further investigations are on, she added. A Hindu outfit leader Rajeev Mahajan, his brother Anil Gupta and son Manav Gupta had sustained bullet injuries after two assailants barged into their electronics shop at Lakkar Mandi in Batala on June 24, and opened fire at them.