DW BUREAU / Chandigarh

In a significant breakthrough, the Anti-Gangster Task Force of Punjab have cracked the sensational daylight murder of Subash, a.k.a. Sohu, who was brutally shot five times in the head by two unidentified persons at Sangariya in Rajasthan's Jodhpur on October 8, with Rajasthan-based weapon suppliers turning out to be the murderers, said Director General of Police (DGP) Punjab Gaurav Yadav here on Monday.

"The revelations came following the investigations and sustained follow-up of backward and forward linkages in the arrest of three Rajasthan-based weapon suppliers identified as Bhanu Sisodia, Mohammad Asif and Anil Kumar, all residents of district Balotra in Rajasthan," he said. The weapon suppliers were arrested by the teams of AGTF and Mohali Police on Friday along with accused Navjot Singh alias Jota, while they attempted delivery of a weapon consignment containing two pistols and eight live cartridges in Dera Bassi. Accused Navjot, a.k.a. Jota, is a key operative of foreign-based handlers Pavitar of the US and Manjinder of France and has been facing over 21 cases of heinous crimes. DGP Yadav said all four arrested accused persons are currently in police remand at a police station in Dera Bassi, and the investigation is progressing swiftly.

He said the mastermind Bhanu Sisodia has confessed to planning the murder as an act of revenge for the killing of his associate, Anil Lega, in February 2024. Accused Mohammad Asif and Anil Kumar played pivotal roles as handlers in executing the crime, he added.

The DGP said that further investigations are going on in this case and more revelations are expected in the coming days.

Sharing more details on preliminary investigations, SSP Deepak Pareek said that the Rajasthan-based trio accused revealed that they had struck a deal with Navjot Singh Jota for either Rs 1 lakh or a safe hideout for them in Punjab in exchange for the weapons used in the crime. These weapons were procured from Madhya Pradesh by them, he added.

He said that the role of a few more persons are coming to the fore in carrying out this murder and coordination with Rajasthan Police is underway to arrest the remaining accused involved in this case.

A case FIR no 313 had been registered under sections 25(6) and 25(7) of the Arms Act at a police station in Dera Bassi.
(editor@dailyworld.in)