With assistance from Navi Mumbai police, the Punjab police team camps in Mumbai to arrest absconding accused after obtaining an arrest warrant from a Ludhiana court in the murder of Baba Bhupinder Singh Khasi Kalan who was killed during the murderous attack on the cavalcade of Baba Ranjit Singh Dhadrianwale in May last year.

After almost 19 months of the murderous attack on religious preacher Baba Ranjit Singh Dhadrianwale and his cavalcade of cars, while he was on his to village Issewal in district Ludhiana to participate in a Gurmat Samagam, which resulted in the murder of his associate Baba Bhupinder Singh Khasi Kalan, a police team from Ludhiana has launched search operations in Navi Mumbai. It is reported that soon after the murder too, police parties from Punjab have been attempting to arrest the alleged conspirators in Mumbai. Soon after the attack, media reports had mentioned that the conspiracy for the murderous attack was hatched in Mumbai.

Dhadrianwale’s aide Baba Bhupinder Singh, who was on the front seat of the Toyota Land Cruiser Prada had suffered a bullet injury and then succumbed to the injuries before medical aid could arrive. In the attack, Baba Ranjit Singh Dhadrianwale escaped with minor bruises as he was seated on the rear seat of the car. The car used by the assailants -a Tata Safari car (PB 23 J 0015) has already been seized by the Ludhiana police, though followers of Baba Dhadhrianwale in their petition to the Punjab and Haryana High Court had mentioned that as many as five cars were used by the accused.

“Of the assailants, 3 from Mumbai -Jaspal Singh Sidhu, Harbhajan Singh Sandhu and Dalbir Singh -known followers of the Damdami Taksal are suspected to be behind the attack are absconding.”

As per information available, on orders from a Ludhiana court, in the FIR no. 47/2016.. IPC 304, 302, 504, 506, 427, 448, 212, 449, 213, 120 B, Conspiracy & Arms Act 25 and 27 at Police Station PAU, Ludhiana, a Punjab police team led by DSP Dalip Kumar Bedi and Senior Police Inspector Jairaj Chapariya of Navi Mumbai Belapur police station searched for accused Jaspal Singh Sidhu from Belapur, Harbhajan Singh Sandhu from Mulund and Dalbir Singh from Kharghar, New Mumbai, but they were not able to detain them and as per last reports, they are absconding.

The investigative agencies had said that the online facebook war between the two groups led to the attack and since then, fourteen suspects, including Hardev Singh, a resident of Udho Nangal, near Baba Bakala, Amritsar; Gagandeep Singh Harnoor and Jaspreet Singh, residents of Chhadran village, near Katani Kalan of Ludhiana and Manjeet Singh, a resident of Mohalla Dharampura have been arrested.

Of the many assailants, 3 from Mumbai and followers of the Damdami Taksal, whose followers are suspected to be behind the attack managed to give the police party from Ludhiana a slip last week when they reached their homes and places of work.

In the aftermath of the attack, Ludhiana police after the arrest of the four accused had said that there are as many as 30 conspirators and the investigative agencies are doing their work. As mentioned in the petition filed by Baba Ranjit Singh Dhadrianwale in the Punjab and Haryana High Court, which petition has been rejected, 14 people have so far been arrested by the Punjab police. However, Baba Ranjit Singh has demanded the arrest of all accused as well enquiry by the CBI in the matter. Significantly, the CBI too had said that it does not want to take up the case as its hands are full.

Across the board, all parties -Congress, Badal Dal and the Punjabi unit of Aam Aadmi Party had condemned the attack on Baba Ranjit Singh Dhadrianwale and promised justice in the matter.

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To the chagrin of the general Sikh population, the acrimony between the two groups is growing by the day. It is felt that the affinity between the Taksal and the SGPC resulted in the denial of permission for Dhadhrianwale to hold his religious congregation in Amritsar last month.