With the arrest of three suspects from Bathinda, the Punjab Police, on Wednesday, claimed to have solved the double murder of a cloth merchant and his personal security officer (PSO), Mandeep Singh, on 7 December.

Addressing a press conference at Punjab Police headquarters in Chandigarh, Director General of Police (DGP) Punjab Gaurav Yadav said the three shooters were masterminded by US-based Amandeep Purewala alias Aman, a native of Nakodar in Jalandhar.

Yadav, while ruling out the association of Amandeep Purewal with any other gang or gangsters, said that the mastermind Purewal, in a bid to float his new gang to create terror in the border state has made Chawla as his first target and made extortion calls to him while in the US.

“Later, Amandeep Purewal, along with Amrik Singh and Gurinder Ginda, hatched a conspiracy to eliminate Timmy Chawla, and arranged five shooters, who opened fire at the victim and his PSO in the evening of December 7,” he said, adding that the Punjab Police have successfully nipped this gang in the bud.

Those arrested have been identified as Khushkaran Singh alias Fauji of village Nangla in Talwandi Sabo, Bathinda, Kamaldeep Singh alias Deep of Vehan Diwan in Bathinda and Manga Singh alias Geeta alias Bicchu of village Jassi Poh Wali in Bathinda.

The police teams have also recovered one .30 bore Pistol used in the crime and a Safari Car used to conduct recce from the possession of arrested persons.

On 7 December, five unidentified persons shot dead a Nakodar-based cloth merchant Bhupinder Singh alias Timmy Chawla, while his PSO constable Mandeep Singh, who also received bullet shots, succumbed to the injuries later at Capitol Hospital in Jalandhar.

Chawla had earlier received threat calls for extortion of Rs 30 lakh and had registered a first information report (FIR) under sections 387 and 506 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) at Police Station Nakodar City. Two security personnel were provided to Chawla.

The DGP said police have also identified the two main conspirators as Amrik Singh of Bathinda and Gurinder Singh alias Ginda of Malri in Nakodar, who conducted recce, arranged shooters and weapons on directions of Amandeep Purewal, besides, identifying the remaining two shooters – Satpal alias Sajan and Thakur. “Police teams are on a manhunt to arrest the absconding shooters and both conspirators,” he said.