4 held for kabaddi player's murder; police suspect professional rivalry
Jalandhar, March 19
In less than a week after an international kabaddi player was killed, the police have claimed to have solved the case with the arrest of four men, including two gangsters, who allegedly hatched the murder conspiracy.
Also read: Betting, match-fixing: Gangsters trying to control kabaddi tournaments in Punjab
Kabaddi player Sandeep Singh, alias Sandeep Nangal Ambian, was shot dead by five unidentified assailants during a kabaddi match at Mallian village in Jalandhar district on March 14. He was shot more than seven times, and received fatal shots in his head and chest.
The murder conspiracy was allegedly hatched by a Canada-based owner of a rival kabaddi group amid professional rivalry over Sandeep’s kabaddi federation bagging players, the police have said.
Those arrested have been identified as Fateh Singh, alias Yuvraj, a resident of Sangrur; Kaushal Chaudhary of Gurugram (Haryana); Amit Dagar of Maheshpur Palvan village in Haryana; and Simranjeet Singh of Pilibhit (Uttar Pradesh).
Fateh and Chaudhary are gangsters.The four accused, who are history-sheeters and face more than 20 criminal cases mostly of murder and attempt to murder, were brought here on production warrant from different jails.
They are currently lodged in Kapurthala jail, say sources. The police have also booked three persons as the main accused in Sandeep’s murder. One of them is Snover Dhillon, a native of Amritsar and currently residing in Brampton, Canada. He is a producer and director at Canadian Sath TV and Radio Show.
The other two are Sukhwinder Singh, alias Sukha Duneke, a native of Duneke village in Moga district and residing in Canada for a few years; and Jagjit Singh, alias Gandhi, a native of Ludhiana. At present, he is in Malaysia.
Director General of Police (DGP) VK Bhawra told the media, “During interrogation, Fateh disclosed that Snover Dhillon had formed the ‘National Kabaddi Federation of Ontario’ and tried to convince players to join it. However, most of the renowned players were associated with the ‘Major League Kabaddi’ that was managed by deceased Sandeep, rendering Snover’s federation unsuccessful.”
Fateh reportedly admitted to have mounted pressure on some kabaddi players to join Snover’s federation.
Jalandhar Rural SSP Satinder Singh said Fateh also confessed that on Snover’s instructions, he along with other accused had arranged shooters for killing Sandeep.
The SSP further said Simranjeet had provided the shooters with a hideout at the house of his relative identified as Swaran Singh in Amritsar.
The police have seized 18 cartridges and 12-bore rifle from Swaran’s house. Subsequently, Swaran Singh, who is absconding, has been nominated in the case.
The SSP added the shooters had been identified and would be arrested soon.
Accused are history-sheeters
- Those arrested have been identified as Fateh Singh of Sangrur; Kaushal Chaudhary of Gurugram (Haryana); Amit Dagar of Maheshpur Palvan village in Haryana; and Simranjeet Singh of Pilibhit (UP)
- The four accused are history-sheeters and face more than 20 criminal cases mostly of murder and attempt to murder. They were brought to Nakodar on production warrant from different jails
15K attend funeral
- Around 15,000 people attended kabaddi player Sandeep Singh’s cremation at his native village Nangal Ambian in Jalandhar district on Saturday
- His family had demanded that the last rites would be performed only after the accused were caught
- After the accused were arrested, Sandeep’s post-mortem was conducted and later he was cremated
