Assembly Bypolls Results 2024: Vote counting underway for 13 seats across 7 states
The counting of votes for the 13 legislative assembly seats spread across seven states began on Saturday morning.
Punjab Director General of Police (DGP) Gaurav Yadav announced on Saturday that Punjab Police have busted an extortion racket run by gangster Harry Chattha by apprehending its key associate, Navneet Singh, alias Nav of Batala, following a brief encounter near the village of Balpurian in Batala.
Three more people have been arrested by the police for their direct involvement: Gagandeep Singh alias Kaala of the village Bal in Batala, Balraj Singh alias Baaz of the village Amargarh Shahpur in Gurdaspur, and Prem Kumar alias Ghulla of the village Umarval. The other three accused persons, Harpreet Singh alias Preet of Majitha Road Amritsar, Sukhraj Singh of the village Lakhanpal in Gurdaspur, and Darshan Singh alias Darshi of Sudhaar in Jagraon, were brought in on production warrants from various jails for their logistical support.
Along with live ammunition, two stolen motorcycles, a Hyundai I-20 car, and four handguns—three of which were country-made and one in 9mm Glock—police teams have also seized these items.
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According to DGP Gaurav Yadav, there have been two recent reports of extortion in Batala. In the first one, on October 28, members of the Harry Chatha gang opened fire outside the shop of a travel agent, and in the second, on October 7, outside the home of a local businessman. The victims had refused to give the requested money.
According to credible information, the accused Navneet Singh began firing at the police party when Batala Police began pursuing the I-20 car. He added that the police teams retaliated in self-defence, during which time the accused Navneet was shot in the leg. He said that accused Navneet has been admitted to the hospital for medical care.
According to Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Batala Ashwini Gotyal, police teams have successfully apprehended three additional members of this module from various locations for their direct involvement in the shooting, thanks to technical input. More arrests are anticipated soon, and investigations are ongoing.
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