Moga court frames charges against Bishnoi, Bhagwanpuria in 2021 murder bid case

A local court here on Saturday framed charges, including attempt to murder, against gangsters Lawrence Bishnoi, Jaggu Bhagwanpuria and their two aides in a 2021 case.

Additional district and sessions judge Vikrant Kumar ordered that charges be framed under Sections 307 (attempt to murder) of the IPC, sections 54, 59, 25 (arms manufacture, sale, repair, etc) of the Arms Act and section 22 (contravention in relation to psychotropic substances) of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act against Lawrence Bishnoi, Jagdeep Singh alias Jaggu Bhagwanpuri, Monu Dagar and Harpreet Singh.

Bishnoi was brought here from Bathinda jail in a bulletproof vehicle under heavy security. Dagar, and Harpreet were also produced in the court, while Bhagwanpuria appeared through video conferencing. The court complex was sealed by the police till the proceedings ended.

Moga SSP J Elanchezhian said that Lawrence Bishnoi was presented in the court for framing of charges against him in a case registered at the city south police station. “After the proceedings, he was sent back to Bathinda jail. Now next hearing is on July 17,” he said.

Police claim that in December 2021, Bishnoi took a contract to kill Jatinder Kumar, alias Neela, brother of Moga deputy mayor Ashok Dhamija. On directions of Bishnoi, Canada-based gangster Goldy Brar sent shooters Harpreet Singh and Monu Dagar, also an accused in Moose Wala’s case, to kill Neela.

“But they tried to kill Pratham Dhamija as they mistook him for his uncle, Jatinder, due to their similar appearance. Pratham escaped as the assailant’s pistol got jammed and he could fire. Only one bullet hit him in the foot. Pratham’s father Sunil Dhamija was also injured in the incident,” a police official said.

Neela is facing a number of criminal cases and is a member of Bishnoi’s rival gang.

Dagar and Harpreet were arrested in December 2021 and are imprisoned in Faridkot. In August 2022, Moga police questioned Bishnoi for 10 days in this case and filed a chargesheet against him.

While Moga police have produced Bishnoi and Bhagwanpuria in the court, Mansa police failed to present them in the singer-turned-politician Sidhu Moose Wala murder case even through video conferencing.

Ten months have passed since the Punjab Police filed a chargesheet in Moose Wala’s murder case, but the court is yet to frame charges against the accused as producing all of them at the same time through videoconferencing is a challenge for the authorities.

Despite the court’s direction to present all accused either physically or through video-conferencing, only 14 of the 25 accused lodged in jails have been presented in a Mansa court in Moose Wala’s murder case.

However, 11 accused, including Bishnoi and Bhagwanpuria, have not been produced in court. Since the filing of the chargesheet in the case, of 28 hearings, Bishnoi has been produced in the court only once through videoconferencing.

Bishnoi gang’s member among four held in Fazilka

Ferozepur: The Fazilka Police on Saturday nabbed four persons, including a member of Lawrence Bishnoi gang, and recovered three pistols and cartridges in Abohar in Fazilka district.

Avneet Kaur, senior superintendent of police, Fazilka, that following a tip off, a team of CIA-2 apprehended Khushkaran Singh of Kabarwala village in Muktsar district and recovered one .32 bore pistol with five live cartridges.

“Later during investigation, Rahul Gharu, Naveen Kumar alias Arju Bishnoi and Ankush of Abohar were also apprehended. Two countrymade pistols and four cartridges were recovered from their possession. All four accused were booked under Section 25,54 and 59 of the Arms Act,” said the SSP.

Kaur also said that Naveen is an operative of the Bishnoi gang. He has several cases of extortion and robbery registered against him in Punjab and Rajasthan. He is currently lodged in Ajmer jail.