11 people arrested from Haryana’s Sirsa: SSP Jammu

SSP Jammu, Joginder Singh, addressing media persons in Jammu on Saturday. -Excelsior/Rakesh
SSP Jammu, Joginder Singh, addressing media persons in Jammu on Saturday. -Excelsior/Rakesh

Jammu cab driver murder case

Excelsior Correspondent

JAMMU, Aug 24: Jammu and Kashmir Police (JKP) have arrested 11 individuals from the Sirsa area of Haryana in connection with the kidnapping and murder of a cab driver from the Kot Bhalwal area of Jammu.

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Following their arrest, all the accused have been remanded to police custody for further investigation.
On August 19, cab driver Mangal Singh, son of Gardham Singh from the Seri Chak area of Kot Bhalwal, went missing from Nagrota while en-route to Jammu Tawi Railway Station from Katra, where he had to drop off 7-8 pilgrims.
Two days later, on August 21, an FIR (No. 228/2024) was registered at Police Station Nagrota under Section 140 BNS, and the investigation commenced.
Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Jammu, Joginder Singh, said that as part of the investigation, 4-5 police teams were formed. The teams were monitored by SP Rural, Brijesh Sharma, with SDPO Nagrota leading them, assisted by SHO Nagrota, Inspector Parvez Sajjad and SHO Jhajjar Kotli, Inspector Nishant Gupta.
According to SSP Jammu, one of the teams was tasked with tracking the vehicle of the missing cab driver, which had left Jammu and Kashmir.
Another team was dispatched to Katra, while a third team began analyzing the mobile and CDR (Call Detail Record) details of the suspects, he said.
Additionally, a search team started combing the area around the National Highway in Nagrota and Jhajjar Kotli, added the SSP Jammu.
He said, the technical team and the team in Katra generated vital leads that were shared with the team pursuing the suspects.
The SSP Jammu further said that with the assistance of Haryana Police, all 11 suspects were arrested in the Sirsa area of Haryana.
SSP Jammu stated that during the chase, a Jammu police team fired warning shots in the air, which were met with return fire from the suspects.
The SSP identified the accused as Gurpreet Singh alias Gopi, son of Amrik Singh; Sukhvinder Singh alias Preet, son of Gurdev Singh; Gursavak Singh alias Sevak, son of Jinder Singh; Gurdeep Singh alias Bana, son of Jinder Singh; Lucky Singh, son of Jagseera; Sahil alias Tara Singh, son of Avtar Singh; Arjun alias Katiya, son of Subash; Lucky Singh, son of Gurjinder Singh; Gopal Kumar alias Gopi, son of Harphool Chand; Gurjeet Singh, son of Gulab Singh, all residents of Nagal, Tehsil Ratial, District Fatehabad; and Kuldeep Singh alias Kaka, son of Nachatar Singh of Khusla Sardulgarh, Punjab.
He said that the gang of accused had conspired in Katra to abduct Mangal Singh and, with criminal intent, brutally murdered him near Bajalta, where they later disposed of his body.
The body of Mangal Singh was recovered in the presence of the deceased’s family members and prominent local residents. Following the post-mortem, the body was handed over to the legal heirs of the deceased.
The SSP added that he would seek the maximum possible punishment for those arrested.
When asked about the motive for the killing, the police officer said, “This matter is under investigation.”
Regarding the number of people directly involved in the murder, he stated, “Preliminarily, it has been determined that 7-8 people were involved in the murder, while 3-4 others harboured them.”
He also confirmed that some sharp-edged weapons had been recovered from the possession of the accused.
The SSP noted that more arrests are possible as the investigation continues.