Gurdaspur chemist shot dead after defying ₹50L extortion threat

In yet another brazen targeted killing linked to extortion syndicates, a 45-year-old chemist was shot dead by unidentified assailants in Punjab’s border town of Dera Baba Nanak in Gurdaspur district on Wednesday morning.

The victim, Ranbir Singh Bedi, ran a medical store in the town’s main market. According to eyewitnesses, the incident occurred around 8am just as Bedi was opening his shop. Two motorcycle-borne men arrived at the spot and opened fire at point-blank range before fleeing.

Local residents rushed Bedi to a nearby hospital, but he succumbed to bullet wounds to the head shortly after.

Batala senior superintendent of police (SSP) Mehtab Singh, who visited the crime scene with forensic teams, confirmed that four empty shells were recovered from the spot. “We have registered a case and initiated a thorough investigation. Multiple teams are scanning CCTV footage to identify the culprits,” the SSP said.

Sources said that Bedi had been receiving extortion demands from organised crime modules. A voice note, purportedly sent by gangster Balwinder Singh, alias Dony Bal, is being widely circulated on social media. In the recording, the speaker identifies himself and demands ₹50 lakh, threatening to kill Bedi if the money was not paid.

While the police have said that the voice note is part of the investigation, the murder follows a similar pattern of recent hit-and-fire tactics used by gangs to terrorise the business community.

Bedi’s murder is the fourth targeted killing carried out by the Dony Bal gang since December 15. Operating from Europe, the gang has claimed at least three of the major killings over the past one-and-a-half months, including that of Aam Aadmi Party-backed Valtoha sarpanch Jarmal Singh at a wedding in Amritsar on January 4; Navpreet Singh Dhaliwal in Abbotsford, Canada, on January 9; and kabaddi promoter Rana Balachauria in Mohali on December 15.

The recurring nature of these crimes—often orchestrated via WhatsApp calls from foreign-based handlers—has triggered panic among local traders in border districts like Gurdaspur and Tarn Taran.

In response to the rise in gangster violence, Punjab Police declared Gangsteran Te Vaar (war on gangsters) and Operation Prahar on January 20. The 72-hour statewide crackdown targeted 61 overseas-based gangsters, including those from the Devender Bambiha and Lawrence Bishnoi syndicates. The aim is to dismantle logistical and financial networks of overseas-based handlers, such as Lucky Patial and Dony Bal.