Mastermind behind murder of Punjab kabaddi player nabbed in Delhi, key accused shot dead in encounter
CHANDIGARH: Aishdeep Singh, the mastermind behind the murder of 30-year-old kabaddi player-cum-promoter Kanwar Digvijay Singh alias Rana Balachauria, was arrested on Wednesday by the Punjab Police from the Indira Gandhi International Airport at Delhi. Meanwhile, another key accused in the case Harpinder Middhi was killed in an encounter at Lalru near here in which two police personnel also sustained injuries. Police said the tussle between different gangsters over the organisation of kabaddi tournaments in Punjab led to the shooting. Senior Superintendent of Police of SAS Nagar Harmandeep Hans said Aishdeep Singh, who had been staying in Russia, came to India on November 25 on the directions of gangster-turned-terrorist Dony Bal to execute the murder. He was arrested from Delhi airport when he was planning to escape to Muscat. Aishdeep informed police about his accomplice Harpinder Middhi, a resident of Naushehra Pannuan in Tarn Taran, who actively supported the shooters and was supposed to escape along with him. Acting on the information, police parties led by Deputy Superintendent of Police of Dera Bassi Bikramjit Singh Brar and including inspectors Sumit Mor, Pushvinder Singh and Malkiat Singh conducted a raid at the location pinpointed by him on the Ambala-Lalru Highway near Jharmal River in Lalru. Upon seeing the police party, the suspect Harpinder Middhi opened fire resulting in serious bullet injuries to two police personnel -- head constables Gulab Singh and Kumar Sharma. The police party retaliated in self-defence during which the suspect was injured and was rushed to Civil Hospital Dera Bassi, where he succumbed to injuries, he said. Gang rivalry over kabaddi tournaments leads to killing of player-promoter Rana Balachauria in Mohali Hans said that police have also arrested another accused Jugraj Singh with the help of Amritsar (Rural) Police. All the accused persons involved in this case have been identified and raids are being conducted to nab the remaining accused, he said. Balachauria was shot dead in Mohali on December 15 by associates of gangsters Doni Bal and Lucky Patial. Police have identified the three accused including the two shooters who pumped bullets into Balachauria. They are Aditya Kapoor alias Makhan and Karan Pathak of Amritsar. The duo are currently absconding. Twelve teams of the Punjab AGTF, SSOC and the district police have been hunting for them for the past two days. Hours after the shootout, gangster Dony Bal claimed responsibility for the attack in a Facebook post. I, Donibal, Saganpreet, Mohabbat Randhawa, Amar Khabe, Prabh Daswal, and Kaushal Chaudhary, take responsibility for the killing of Rana Balachauria during the Kabaddi Cup in Mohali. This man (Rana) was in contact with our rivals Jaggu and Lawrence, it read. He had provided shelter to the killer of Sidhu Moosewala and personally looked after him. By killing Rana today, we have avenged the murder of our brother Sidhu Moosewala. This act was carried out by our brothers Makhan Amritsar and Defaulter Karan, it stated. The killing of Balachauria has brought back memories of a similar incident three years ago when another kabaddi player Sandeep Nangal was shot dead in Jalandhar district in the middle of a tournament at Mallian Kalan village. More recently, a 25-year-old kabaddi player named Teja Singh was shot dead in broad daylight in Jagraon in October this year.
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