CHANDIGARH: Punjab Police struck a decisive blow in the ongoing war against gangsters being waged on the directions of Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, with the arrest of Neeraj Chaska, the topmost wanted shooter of the Davinder Bambiha gang from Jammu, for his involvement in multiple murders including the sensational murder of SOPU President Gurlal Brar, said Director General of Police (DGP) Punjab Gaurav Yadav here on Thursday.
The murder of Gurlal Brar, who was a close relative of Canada-based gangster Goldy Brar triggered inter-gang rivalry between the Davinder Bambiha gang and Lawrence Bishnoi gang leading to spate of murders in Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh and National Capital Region (NCR) Delhi. Gurlal Brar was shot dead outside a nightclub in Chandigarh in October 2020.
The arrested gangster Neeraj alias Chaska, who is resident of Jaito in Faridkot, is the main shooter of Bambiha gang, being controlled by foreign-based wanted gangster Gaurav alias Lucky Patial. Patial is the main handler of Bambiha gang, after gangster Davinder Bambiha was neutralized by the Punjab Police in September 2016. Neeraj has been absconding since 2019.
DGP Gaurav Yadav said that in an ongoing intelligence-based operation, a team of the Anti-Gangster Task Force (AGTF) of Punjab Police, in coordination with central agencies has arrested Neeraj alias Chaska from district Samba in Jammu. The police have also recovered two foreign-made pistols, including .30 caliber and .32 caliber, along with 17 live cartridges from his possession.
He said that apart from Gurlal’s murder, Neeraj has been directly involved in at least four more murders, including the murder of Kabbadi Player Money, who was killed in Jaito town of Faridkot district on the directions of Amna Jaito lodged in Ferozepur Jail in August 2019, and double murder case in which Pardeep alias Panja and Rahul were killed in Ambala in March 2021.
The DGP said that Neeraj Chaska along with his associates had also killed Surjit Bouncer at Sector 38, Chandigarh in March 2020, following which Davinder Bambiha group took the responsibility of the murder on Facebook claiming that Surjit Bouncer was killed to avenge the killing of bouncer Amit Sharma at Saketri.
Yadav said that further investigations and questioning of Neeraj alias Chaska will lead to the unraveling of more activities and plans of the Bambiha Gang.
The interrogation of Lawrence Bishnoi and his several aides arrested by the Punjab Police had revealed that on account of his involvement in the killing of Gurlal Brar, Neeraj alias Chaska was on the top hitlist of the Lawrence Bishnoi gang. Investigations are ongoing.