Punjab: Father-son duo held in Hoshiarpur shooting case

Hoshiarpur (Punjab): A man and his son, wanted in an attack on a jewellery shop here, were arrested after a brief encounter with police on Thursday, officials said.

Krishan Gopal, a resident of village Baincha, and his son Keshav Bawa were apprehended by the Anti-Gangster Task Force (AGTF) Punjab in a joint operation with Hoshiarpur police, Director General of Police (DGP) Gaurav Yadav said.

In the exchange of fire, Bawa was injured after being hit on his right leg, the officials said.

A .32-caliber pistol along with live cartridges was recovered from the duo, and their motorcycle bearing a fake number plate was impounded, they said.

The arrested men were allegedly involved in the October 18 attack at a jewellery shop. Two assailants on motorcycles had opened fire at the shop, police said.

Following the attack, the shop owner received a threat call from an unknown foreign number demanding Rs 20 lakh in extortion, the DGP said.

An FIR was registered at Mahilpur police station under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the Arms Act.

A fresh FIR has been registered under sections 109 (attempt to murder), 221(obstructing public servant in discharge of functions), 132 (assaulting or using criminal force against a public servant), 3(5)(a criminal act committed by multiple people) of BNS and Section 25 of the Arms Act following the encounter, police said.

Sharing operational details, additional DGP, AGTF, Promod Ban said police teams from AGTF and Hoshiarpur district conducted investigations to identify the suspects.

The duo was intercepted at village Mehdoodpur, where they allegedly fired at the police in an attempt to escape. They were overpowered after a brief exchange of fire, during which Keshav Bawa was hit on his right leg, and both were taken into custody, Ban said.

The injured was shifted to the Government Hospital, Hoshiarpur, for treatment, the ADGP said.

DGP Yadav said further investigations are ongoing to establish forward and backward linkages in the case.