Gangster Jaipal was planning to flee to Thailand via Nepal

Dreaded gangster Jaipal Bhullar and his aide Jaspreet Singh of Kharar, who were gunned down by the West Bengal Police’s special task force (STF) in Kolkata on Wednesday, were planning to flee to Thailand via Nepal after gunning down two ASIs at the Jagraon Grain Market on May 15.

Jaipal had shared the plan with his two accomplices, Darshan Singh and Baljnder Singh, who were arrested by Punjab Police’s Organised Crime Control Unit (OCCU) from Gwalior. The duo told police that they were shifting weapons from truck to a car when a police team incepted them in Jagraon on May 15. After the cops identified them, Jaipal ordered to shoot them, they told the police.

After gunning down ASIs Bhagwan Singh and Dalwinderjit Singh, they moved to Rajasthan as police were continuously tracing their location. One of Jaipal’s accomplices in Ludhiana, Bharat Kumar, who was driving the car in which the gangsters fled, was helping him in merging calls on his new mobile number, said police.

Punjab Police arrested Bharat from near Shambhu border in Rajpura when he was returning after dropping the gangsters and recovered a .30-bore pistol from his possession. The black-coloured sedan was caught on a security camera in Gwalior, which revealed the exact location of Jaipal and Jassi. The car, bearing a West Bengal registration number, was reportedly sold six years ago by a Kolkata-based company, but the new owner did not register it in his name.

Aide sent to 7-day police remand

A Kharar court on Thursday sent Bharat to seven-day police custody for providing logistic support to Jaipal. Police said Bharat helped Jaipal and Jassi escape after gunning down two ASIs. Police said that Bharat also used to provide weapons Jaipal.

Haryana man rented flat for gangsters in Kolkata

The apartment that Jaipal and Jassi were using as hideout in Kolkata was rented by Sumit Kumar, a resident of Haryana, on May 22, the CID wing of Bengal Police found during investigation. The gangsters moved into the apartment on May 23, police said.

Sumit, who identified himself as an automobile parts dealer, contacted Saurav Kumar, a Kolkata-based property dealer, over phone last month. The latter asked Sumit to get in touch with Sushanta Saha, a broker who operates in the New Town area, said officials probing the case.

Saha told police that Sumit Kumar rented the apartment at Sukhabristi, an upmarket residential complex. He told the broker that the apartment was required for a man who worked for a private company and was coming to Kolkata on transfer.

Residents and security guards at Sukhabristi told the investigators that Jaipal and Jassi never left the apartment and ordered food from local outlets. One of the delivery boys told the media that the duo always ordered north Indian dishes. They rarely opened the windows.