Gangster Jaipal Bhullar, Jassi Kharar killed in encounter in Kolkata

Tribune News Service
Mohali, June 9

Gangster Jaipal Bhullar and Jassi Kharar, wanted for the killing of CIA ASI Bhagwan Singh and Dalwinderjit Singh at Jagraon Grain Market on May 15, were killed in a joint operation by Punjab Police, West Bengal Police and central security agencies on Wednesday morning.

Sources said the encounter took place at Shahpurji Enclave in Kolkata in which one STF sub-inspector was injured.

Carrying an award of Rs 10 lakh, the top most-wanted gangster, Jaipal Singh Bhullar alias Manjit Singh, was a son of a retired Assistant Sub-Inspector from Punjab Police.

He was wanted in Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan and Himachal Pradesh for over 40 cases related to murder, extortion, kidnapping, robbery and smuggling.

He had succeeded in evading arrest for five years at least and is known as a master of surreptitious movement where he seldom used a mobile phone.

Punjab Police officials reached after two of his close aides were recently arrested from Madhya Pradesh, who were wanted in the murder case of two ASIs.

Jaipal was a hammer-thrower and a budding talent at Speed Fund Academy, a Punjab government sports training centre in Ludhiana. He met another player-cum-small time criminal Happy at the academy.

In July 2004, they carried out the sensational kidnapping of seven-year-old Chirag, son of a cinema-hall owner in Ludhiana.

After his arrest, he came in touch with other gangsters in jail. 

Jaipal became especially close to Rajiv alias Raja, when the latter landed there in 2006 for loot and murder of three Ludhiana jewellers.

Jaipal and Raja teamed up and also became partners in crime with notorious and infamous gangster Shera Khubban.

In January 2009, both helped Raja flee from police custody at the Barnala bus stand. 

They robbed a gun house in Hoshiarpur, looted money from banks in Panchkula and Mohali; robbed a Chandigarh businessman and a BJP leader in Panchkula; and jacked several flashy cars on the highways. 

In June 2009, Raja and some of the gang members were arrested by the Panchkula Police.

A month later, Jaipal and his team were arrested by the Chandigarh Police. They were taken on production warrants to 27 police stations in Punjab, Haryana and Delhi.

But, in most cases, they were acquitted with witnesses reluctant to speak up. In other cases, they got bail.

During their time in Chandigarh’s Burail jail, Jaipal and his gang came in touch with Fazilka’s Rocky. They formed a new gang but developed differences.

Jaipal and his men were acquitted by a Chandigarh court in July 2010. Along with Shera Khubban and another gangster Gurpreet Sekhon ran a dominating gang that also smuggled drugs now. 

Meanwhile, Rocky entered politics and it was alleged he helped cops arrest or kill a number of gangsters.

Jaipal’s gang was allegedly behind the murder of gangster Sukha Kahlon (Kahlwan), too, in January 2015.

He had masterminded the May 2, 2017 Banur van robbery with Tirath Dhilwan, an ‘A-category’ gangster, in which six armed men fired gunshots and escaped with Rs 1.33 crore. Jaipal kept the maximum booty with himself and gave away only Rs 20 lakh to the others involved with him.

He meticulously planned and monitored the February 17, 2020 robbery of 30kg gold from a branch of India Infoline Finance Limited (IIFL) in Ludhiana.

Jaipal was waiting in the car as his accomplices took the IIFL staff at gunpoint and returned with 30kg of gold before they fled.