Chandigarh: All the four men who had allegedly beaten a state police head constable to death in Barnala city of Punjab late Sunday night have been nabbed, director general of police (DGP), Gaurav Yadav, said on Tuesday.
Stating that the accused were arrested after a brief encounter with police – in which one of them, Paramjit Singh, was injured in the leg -, DGP Yadav said that a pistol and two cartridges were also recovered from their possession.
The accused were identified as Paramjit Singh alias Pamma, Gurmeet Singh, Wazir Singh and Jagraj Singh, who had fled the spot after the crime. According to police, all four accused, in their mid-30s, were said to be formerly kabaddi players and notorious elements in the city.
Singh had gone to settle quarrel between eatery owner, accused
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It may be recalled that the head constable Darshan Singh, 50, was brutally beaten to death by the accused late Sunday night at an eatery in 22-Acre Market area, where he had gone to settle a quarrel between the eatery owner and the accused over an issue of bill payment.
The Barnala senior superintendent of police (SSP) Sandeep Malik said that the eatery owner had called the police after the accused started arguing and got aggressive with him over the payment of the bill. When the area police team reached the spot and tried to settle the matter, the accused attacked them, grievously injuring head constable Darshan Singh who was part of the team, he said.
The police said that Singh was rushed to the civil hospital, where he succumbed to injuries.
Accused open fire at cops
The SSP said that the accused were nabbed when they tried to jump a police naka after the police personnel signalled a car to stop. The accused not only tried to hit the police personnel but also opened fire at the cops, subsequent to which police also fired at them hurting one of them in the leg.
Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann had on Monday condoled the death of Darshan Singh and announced Rs 1 crore ex-gratia for his family and another Rs 1 crore as life insurance cover to be paid by HDFC Bank.
