Chandigarh, Jun 18 (PTI) Three persons allegedly involved in the killing of a pharmacy cashier here have been arrested from Jammu and Kashmir, police said.
The prime suspect, Amit Kumar, was nabbed by local police near Samba in J-K on Thursday, and his arrest is expected to reveal the complete conspiracy behind the crime, including possible links with organised criminal networks and extortion activities, official sources here said.
Earlier on Wednesday evening, two other suspects Sunny Mehra (22) and Aryan Sharma (21) were arrested from Jammu in connection with the killing, and while they were being brought to Chandigarh on transit remand, they allegedly made an unsuccessful attempt to escape from police custody.
Sunny and Aryan allegedly fled to Delhi after the crime on Saturday, and then went to Jammu on a train, they said.
Chandigarh Police located the two accused using technical surveillance and made the arrests in Jammu.
Amit, the main suspect, will also be brought here for questioning, official sources said.
On Thursday morning, when a Chandigarh police team was returning here with Sunny and Aryan, their vehicle met with a minor accident, and both the accused tried to escape, leading to an exchange of fire in which the accused received bullet injuries, Inspector General (IG) Pushpendra Kumar said at a press conference here.
The two accused Sunny who shot dead the pharmacy cashier, and Aryan who was waiting outside on a motorcycle — are residents of Jammu and Rajouri, respectively, in J-K, he said.
Amit, who also entered the pharmacy with Sunny, is said to be the prime suspect in the case, he said.
“We have been able to work out the case. After the incident, a Special Investigation Team comprising police personnel from the Crime Branch, Operations Cell, District Crime Cell and the concerned police station in Sector 11 was formed.
“According to primary leads, we came to know that after committing the crime, the assailants took a bus to Delhi and later boarded a train to Jammu,” Kumar said.
IG Kumar said the SIT carried out an extensive investigation involving CCTV analysis, technical surveillance, intelligence gathering and coordinated raids across Chandigarh, Punjab, Delhi and Jammu and Kashmir.
During investigation, it emerged that the accused arrived in Chandigarh on a stolen motorcycle bearing a Punjab registration number.
Detailed scrutiny of CCTV footage, hotel records and technical evidence enabled investigators to identify the accused persons.
Based on technical surveillance and use of various investigative tools and leads gathered during the investigation, our team arrested the two accused involved in the incident from Jammu, Kumar said during the press conference held before Amit’s arrest.
The motive behind the killing is under investigation, and police are looking into the “larger conspiracy” behind the incident, police said.
When asked about gangster Goldy Dhillon, who is based abroad, purportedly claiming responsibility for the attack, police said this is under investigation.
Asked if the pharmacy owner had received any extortion call before the cashier’s killing, the IG said no such thing has come to light during the investigation so far.
Police also did not rule out the angle of mistaken identity but said nothing points to it being a case of mistaken identity.
IG Kumar said after completing legal formalities in Jammu, the police team was returning to Chandigarh when their vehicle met with a minor accident.
“They (Sunny and Aryan) snatched a weapon which fell on the ground as a result of the accident. They attacked the police team. Our team warned them, but they did not listen. In retaliation, we opened fire, in which both accused sustained bullet injuries in their leg and were hospitalised,” he said.
According to the police officer, the driver of the vehicle carrying the accused was injured when the vehicle met with an accident.
IG Kumar said the accused fired two rounds at the police team, which in turn fired four.
On June 13, two masked men had shot dead the pharmacy cashier, Janki Das (45), in broad daylight in Sector 11, Chandigarh. The incident was captured by a CCTV camera installed inside the shop.
The assailants fled on a motorcycle with a third accomplice waiting outside. In the CCTV footage, the two men are seen standing near the cash counter of the shop. One of them pulls out a semi-automatic pistol and fires 13 rounds at Das from a very close range. Sunny is the one who opened fire at Das. Amit went inside the pharmacy with Sunny, the IG said.
The accused stayed at Kajheri here before carrying out the crime.
The weapon used in the crime has not been recovered so far and is believed to be with accused Amit, the IG said.
On whether the two accused Sunny and Aryan have any previous criminal background, IG said police do not have anything on their criminal background. “They are not too educated. We are checking detailed family background.” When asked how the accused managed to leave the city despite multiple police ‘nakas’, the IG said they were trying to figure out if there were any gaps in their plan.
Das was a native of Himachal Pradesh and had been living in Dhanas area for some time. The market where the incident took place sees heavy footfall every day and has several pharmacies as it is next to the Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER). PTI SUN SKY SKY
This report is auto-generated from PTI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.