The Punjab Police struck a decisive blow in the ongoing war against gangsters with the arrest of Neeraj Chaska, one of the most wanted shooters of the Davinder Bambiha gang from Jammu, for his involvement in multiple murders, including the sensational murder of the Students Organisation of Punjab University (SOPU) President Gurlal Brar, said Director General of Police (DGP) Punjab Gaurav Yadav on Thursday.
The murder of Gurlal Brar, who was a close relative of Canada-based gangster Goldy Brar, triggered an inter-gang rivalry between the Davinder Bambiha gang and the Lawrence Bishnoi gang, leading to a spate of murders in Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, and National Capital Region (NCR) Delhi. Gurlal Brar was shot dead outside a nightclub in Chandigarh in October 2020.
The arrested gangster Neeraj alias Chaska, who is a resident of Jaito in Faridkot, is the main shooter of the Bambiha gang, controlled by the wanted foreign-based gangster Gaurav alias Lucky Patial. After gangster Davinder Bambiha was neutralised by the Punjab Police in September 2016, Patial became the main handler of the Bambiha gang. Neeraj has been absconding since 2019.
DGP Gaurav Yadav said that in an ongoing intelligence-based operation, a team of the Anti-Gangster Task Force (AGTF) of Punjab Police, in coordination with central agencies, has arrested Neeraj alias Chaska from the district of Samba in Jammu. The police have also recovered two foreign-made pistols, including a.30 calibre and a.32 caliber, along with 17 live cartridges from his possession.
He said that apart from Gurlal’s murder, Neeraj has been directly involved in at least four more murders, including the murder of Kabbadi Player Money, who was killed in Jaito town in Faridkot district on the directions of Amna Jaito, lodged in Ferozepur Jail in August 2019, and a double murder case in which Pardeep alias Panja and Rahul were killed in Ambala in March 2021.
The DGP said that Neeraj Chaska, along with his associates, had also killed Surjit Bouncer at Sector 38, Chandigarh in March 2020, following which the Davinder Bambiha group took the responsibility for the murder on Facebook, claiming that Surjit Bouncer was killed to avenge the killing of bouncer Amit Sharma at Saketri.
Yadav said that further investigations and questioning of Neeraj alias Chaska will lead to the unravelling of more activities and plans of the Bambiha Gang.
The interrogation of Lawrence Bishnoi and his several aides arrested by the Punjab Police revealed that, on account of his involvement in the killing of Gurlal Brar, Neeraj alias Chaska, was on the top hitlist of the Lawrence Bishnoi gang. Investigations are ongoing.
