Chandigarh, Oct 20 : Punjab Police have thwarted three possible target killings with the arrest of five key operatives of the Bambiha-Kaushal gang, said Director General of Police (DGP) Punjab Gaurav Yadav here on Sunday.





Those arrested have been identified as Jaspreet Singh, alias Jassa of Boparai Kalan village in Jalandhar; Harshdeep Singh of Garage Mehdood village in Hoshiarpur; Shekhar of Muradpur village in Tarn Taran; Gagandeep Singh, alias Ginni Bajwa, of Jalandhar; and Amit Sahota of Bambian Wal village in Jalandhar.



Police teams have also recovered nine weapons, including eight pistols and one revolver, along with 15 cartridges from their possession.



DGP Yadav said the arrested accused were involved in multiple serious offences, including extortion, murder and arms trafficking across several districts of Punjab.



Several cases have already been registered against these accused persons, he added.



The DGP said further investigations are going on to uncover their broader network and establish both backward and forward linkages to dismantle the gang completely.



Sharing operation details, Commissioner of Police (Jalandhar) Swapan Sharma said following inputs that members of the Bambiha-Kaushal gang are planning a major criminal activity in the state, police teams have laid a checkpoint at the BSF Chowk and arrested three accused, including Jaspreet Jassa, Harshdeep and Shekhar after recovering six weapons from their possession.



He said later two more operatives of the gang identified as Gagandeep Ginni and Amit Sahota were arrested from a checkpoint near Bhargo Camp and three weapons were recovered from their possession. Further investigations are on and more arrests are expected, he added.



Two separate cases have been registered under Section 25 of the Arms Act at Police Station New Baradari in Jalandhar and under Section 25 of the Arms Act at Police Station Bhargo Camp in Jalandhar.



/IANS