Ten shooters allegedly associated with gangsters Lawrence Bishnoi and Goldie Brar were arrested in Gurugram, the police said on Thursday.
Four pistols, 28 live cartridges, two vehicles and seven police uniforms were seized from their possession, they said, adding one of the vehicles recovered was reportedly stolen from Delhi.
Rakesh Kumar alias Anil, Harjot Singh alias Leela, Ajay Isharwalia alias Punjabi, Prince alias Golu, Joginder alias Joga, Sandeep alias Deep, and Sinderpal alias Bittu were arrested from Mehandwad at Bhondsi, Gurugram on a specific input while they were plotting to commit a crime Wednesday night, police said.
During interrogating, they revealed the names of their three other associates --Dharmendra alias Dharma, Deepak alias Dilawar and Bharat -- who were also apprehended near Rajiv Chowk Devi Lal Stadium, the police said.
Lawrence Bishnoi and Goldie Brar were allegedly involved in the murder of singer Sidhu Moosewala, who was shot dead in Punjab's Mansa district on May 29 last year. Canada-based gangster Goldie Brar, a member of the Lawrence Bishnoi gang, had claimed responsibility for the murder.
The 10 accused arrested told the police that they were active shooters working for Lawrence Bishnoi and Goldie Brar.
"They had come to Gurugram to carry out a major dacoity and kidnapping. Their plan involved posing as police officers, with Joginder impersonating a police inspector. The intention was to kidnap someone and demand a ransom of crores of rupees. However, the police managed to apprehend them before they could execute their plan," said Vijay Pratap Singh, DCP, Crime.
The shooters confessed that they carried out crimes under the instructions of Goldie Brar, Rohit Godara and Veeru, who are believed to be residing abroad, he said.
They had bought police uniforms, belts, shoes and other items for their operations in Gurugram, the DCP said.
The accused arrested were in regular contact with Goldie Brar and others abroad and on their instructions carried out kidnappings and collected ransom, he said.
"It also came to the fore that multiple cases are registered against the arrested individuals, including robbery, dacoity, attempted murder, theft, assault, possession of illegal weapons. These cases have been filed in various districts of Haryana, including Bhiwani, Panchkula, Sirsa, Ambala, Gurugram, and in Mohali (Punjab) and Rajasthan," said varun Dahiya, ACP, crime.
Sharing individual crime records of the accused, the police said Jogendra alias Joga is the leader of the shooters and is associated with Lawrence Bishnoi and Goldie Brar gangs.
He hails from Baddunai in Bhiwani district and has more than 15 cases against him, including robbery, dacoity, attempted murder and extortion, they said.
Jogendra has been to jail multiple times and served a five-year sentence in Ambala Jail from 2017 to October 2021.
He was released from jail in 2021 and was arrested again in February 2022, but obtained bail after about 35 days.
He was absconding since then and has not appeared before court, the police said.
During his stay in Patiala Jail, Joginder met Lawrence Bishnoi and his gang members and after that he became an active member of his gang, they said.
Harjot Singh alias Leela hails from Badraklai village in Moga district of Punjab. He has six cases registered against him in Badhni Kalan Moga police station, including assault, attempted murder and drug-related offenses, the police said.
Sinderpal alias Bittu belongs to Kalwanu village in Patiala district, Punjab. Three cases, including dacoity and drug offenses, are registered against him in Patiala, they said.
Sandeep alias Deep is from Sisai village in Hisar. He has been charged with attempt to murder, police said.
Ajay Isharwalia alias Punjabi hails from Isharwal in Bhiwani and also faces various charges, they said.
