“We got a tip-off that the accused were headed towards Tarn Taran. We sealed its borders and started questioning Rana’s aides. The accused were first seen in Sohal village where they fired at the police party chasing them and fled. Prior to it, they had taken shelter at Prabhjit Singh’s house,” said Saini.

The trio again gave the police a slip at Basarke village before they were spotted driving a SUV at Rajoke village and finally arrested. “When the accused came to know of police deployment in the area, they left their vehicle and tried to escape on foot. But the police laid siege to the village and arrested them,” said Saini.

The police recovered a .315 bore pistol from Rana he had used in the crime. A .12 bore double barrel gun and 20 live cartridges were seized from Prabhjit while a .32 bore revolver and three live cartridges were recovered from Dharam Singh. A separate case has been registered against them for firing at the police party in Sohal village.

DGP Saini said Chheharta SHO Ashwini Kumar was suspended after he was found guilty of negligence of duty in a probe conducted by a SP-rank official. “ASI Ravinderpal’s family had lodged a complaint of eve-teasing at the Chheharta police station on December 1, but SHO Ashwini Kumar did not take action. This is totally unacceptable,” said Saini.

Rana had been stalking ASI Ravinderpal Singh's daughter Robinjeet Kaur for the last few days and she had complained to the police that some youth were harassing her. On Wednesday, when Ravinderpal objected to his daughter’s harassment, he was allegedly shot dead by Rana and his accomplices near the Chheharta police station on the outskirts of Amritsar.

Hinting that more heads may roll, Saini added, “Ravinderpal was a colleague and we’ve taken this incident very seriously. Anybody found guilty will not be spared.”

As per the preliminary probe, two police personnel were with Ravinderpal at the time of the incident, but they fled when the accused open fire.

Punjab Revenue Minister Bikram Singh Majithia, who accompanied Saini, said, “We strongly condemn this cowardly act on behalf of the Punjab Government, CM and Deputy CM. The police have acted swiftly and nabbed the accused. Our sympathies are with the bereaved family. They are satisfied with the police action till now.” 

Sukhbir orders job for daughter

Punjab Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal has ordered that the daughter of ASI Ravinder Pal Singh, who was killed on Wednesday, be immediately enlisted as sub-inspector in Punjab Police as a special case. “The girl displayed exemplary courage,” said the Deputy Chief Minister.