Two days after the daylight murder of former kabaddi player Gagandeep Singh, 36, in Manuke village of Jagraon, the grieving family on Wednesday performed his last rites finally amid heavy police security after receiving assurances from the Ludhiana rural police that all those involved in the killing would be arrested at the earliest.
Meanwhile, the police have intensified the crackdown in the case, taking the total number of arrests to five, including a woman. However, the prime accused, Gursewak Singh alias Mota, a resident of Manuke village who is said to have masterminded the attack, continues to evade arrest.
The family had earlier refused to cremate the body, demanding swift and decisive action against the accused. They relented after police officials assured them that the investigation was progressing and that no culprit would be spared.
Gagandeep was gunned down on Monday by a group of assailants allegedly led by Gursewak following a simmering village-level rivalry. According to the police and family members, Gagandeep had objected to Gursewak and his aides harassing his close friend Ekam, who was also present at the spot during the attack. While Ekam escaped with minor injuries, Gagandeep was hit by at least three bullets and later succumbed to his wounds.
Sub-inspector Kuldeep Singh, SHO of Hathur police station, said five more persons, including a woman, were arrested on Wednesday.
“The fresh arrests include Prabhjot Singh of Adampura in Bathinda, Jaspreet Singh of Tallewala in Barnala, Gaganpreet Kaur of Nabha, Balwinder Das and Sukhdev Singh of Manuke,” the SHO said. He added that Gaganpreet Kaur is a close associate of another key accused, Jaspal Singh Hansa, who is also absconding.
According to the police, all five newly arrested accused had harboured and sheltered the main assailants and were actively involved in the larger conspiracy to murder Gagandeep. “The kingpin of the group, Gursewak Singh alias Mota, is still on the run. Police teams are conducting raids at multiple locations to arrest him at the earliest,” the SHO added.
Earlier, Gurdeep Singh of Badhni Kalan in Moga district had been arrested in the case, bringing the total number of arrests so far to six.
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