Kolkata, Jan 12 (IANS) Three members of a notorious gang from Punjab have been arrested from the Howrah station area, said the police on Monday, in connection with the murder of a kabaddi player in Punjab on December 15.

According to Howrah City Police sources, the three were apprehended by a team from the Golabari police station on Saturday night.

The arrested individuals have been identified as Karan Pathak, Tarandeep Singh and Akashdeep Singh.

Police sources said that the three, who are involved in organised crime in Punjab, have several charges against them. All three are residents of Punjab.

The Punjab Police Special Task Force (STF) was searching for them. Since the murder of a kabaddi player in Punjab on December 15, the three accused had been on the run.

They had gone to Kolkata via Gangtok to lie low, however, they were trying to escape from there quickly. For this purpose, they were planning to board a train from Howrah station on Sunday night to flee to another location.

Upon receiving this information through various sources, the Punjab STF contacted the Golabari police station, leading to the arrests.

Acting on a tip-off, the Howrah City Police were on high alert. The suspects were identified from the station premises at night.

Initially, the arrested individuals told the police that they were members of the Lawrence Bishnoi gang. However, according to sources in the Punjab Police, the arrested men said this to mislead the investigators. In reality, they are members of a rival group. The police are trying to gather more information about the three individuals.

It may be recalled that last month, a social media post claimed responsibility for the killing of kabaddi player Rana Balachauria in Mohali, and termed it “revenge” for singer Sidhu Moosewala’s murder.

The Instagram reel, posted purportedly by a smaller gang reportedly linked further with the Bambiha gang, said in Punjabi that the attack was to “avenge” the 2022 murder of Moosewala, claiming that Rana Balachauria was linked to Lawrence Bishnoi and Jaggu Bhagwanpuria’s gangs.

Rana Balachauria, a player and sports event promoter, was at a local kabaddi tournament in Mohali’s Sohana area when unidentified assailants opened fire, killing him. Rana’s real name was Kanwar Digvijay Singh.

–IANS

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