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Magisterial probe ordered into Moga shootout Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Gurcharan Singh Sandhu said the post-mortem of Sukhdev Singh (45) and Inderjit Singh, alias Gora (35), killed in the encounter, had been conducted. He said the Chandigarh Police informed Mehna cops that they had come to arrest two youths in connection with a robbery case. However, they arrived in private vehicles and were in plain clothes. The UT police came to arrest Gurcharan Singh Rinku (21) of Channuwala village and Sukhpal Singh, alias Khuspinder Singh (25), of Sangatpura village. An FIR under the IPC and the IT Act was registered against them at the Sector 17 police station in Chandigarh on June 23. The in charge of the Chandigarh Police crime branch Inspector Ranjodh Singh stated that when he and his colleagues turned towards Baghapurana Road
on the Moga bypass around 7.45 pm, they saw Rinku and Khuspinder standing along the road with four others. "We stopped our vehicles and tried to arrest Rinku and Khuspinder, but they rushed to their vehicles, took out their arms and started firing at us. Sub-inspector Rajdeep Singh and constable Surinder Kumar were injured," he stated. The UT police claimed
that two associates of the youths wanted by them were injured in the crossfire. Later, they died on their way to the district hospital. A .12 bore gun, a .32 bore revolver and a .315 bore rifle were recovered from the spot. Rinku and Khuspreet were taken into custody from the spot and allegedly tortured by the UT police. They are being presently undergoing treatment in the district hospital, here. Khuspinder said he and Rinku were coming from Jalandhar in their car and stopped on the bypass to have juice. "Sukhdev and his gunman also stopped their vehicle there to have drinks. Suddenly, two-three cars arrived on the spot and they shouted catch them, catch them. Sukhdev and his gunman fired shots at them. The policemen in civvies retaliated and fired shots at us. We hid nearby, while Sukhdev and his gunman died in the crossfire. Then, the police arrested us and started beating us up. The bodies were loaded in a car and taken to the district hospital. We were
also admitted to the hospital," he said. Rinku rejected the police theory that they got a 'supari' from an US-based NRI to kill Harbinder Singh at his residence in Chandigarh. Both Rinku and Khuspinder claimed that Sukhdev was not known to them prior to the incident. Sukhdev's son Gurpreet Singh also alleged that his father had nothing to do with the case registered at Chandigarh. "My father was present on the spot by chance. He was pulled out of the car by the UT police and shot at when he tried to run away. Then, the police fired two
shots from a close range killing him on the spot," he alleged. Sources in the UT police says that inspector Ranjodh Singh, in charge of the crime branch, is a relative of local Akali leader Gursewak Singh Gholia. The youth, Harbinder Singh of Hakam Wala village, who lodged an FIR against Khuspreet and Rinku, is also their relative. There are rumours that Sukhdev, Khuspinder and Rinku did not enjoy good relations with a section of the local Akali leaders. Sukhdev being a local 'gangster' was protecting them. Inspector Ranjodh admitted Akali leader Gholia was his cousin and Pheru Rai was his maternal uncle but denied reports that Harbinder was his relative.
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Moga, June 26