A week after Pradeep Singh, a Dera Sacha Sauda adherent charged in the 2015 Bargari sacrilege charges, was shot dead by six assailants, Punjab Police made three arrests of those allegedly responsible for the shooting. Two of the three arrested accused are shooters. The Punjab police arrested the accused on 17th November 2022.
In a shocking incident on Thursday, 10th November 2022, Pradeep Singh was shot dead in Punjab’s Faridkot by six unidentified attackers in Kotkapura town of Faridkot district. The incident occurred while Pardeep was opening his shop in Kotkapura, police said, adding that Pradeep Singh’s gunman was injured in the incident.
Manpreet Singh Manni and Bhupinder Singh Goldy, two shooters, were taken into custody by the Punjab Police on Thursday 17th November 2022 in Hoshiarpur. Baljit Singh, alias Manna, the third suspect, was detained for giving logistical assistance to three gunmen from the gang’s Haryana arm.
With the arrest of the shooters from the Faridkot district, five of the six accused have been apprehended, and the hunt for the sixth continues. While the three shooters of the Haryana module, including two minors, were captured in Patiala by the Delhi Police special cell less than 24 hours after the murder on November 10, Manni and Goldy are members of the Punjab-based module of the Canadian Goldy Brar’s gang.
Punjab’s director general of police (DGP), Gaurav Yadav, tweeted on Thursday to share the news. He said in the video, “Pradeep Singh’s targetted killing took place on November 10. Today Punjab police achieved a big success in arresting Manpreet Singh Manni and Bhupinder Singh Goldy. Both these shooters have been arrested as a result of an intelligence-based operation. They were arrested from Hoshiarpur in an operation conducted jointly by the Faridkot and Hoshiarpur police teams along with counter-intelligence (CI) members of Jalandhar police. Faridkot police have also arrested Baljit Singh, alias Manna, for providing logistic support to three shooters from the Haryana module.”
Goldy Brar, an associate of fugitive Harvinder Singh, alias Rinda, and incarcerated mobster Lawrence Bishnoi, according to Yadav, is the mastermind of the crime. Police sources said that Goldy Brar was managing the modules on his own.
It is notable that, in 2015, Pardeep Singh was accused of stealing a ‘bir’ (copy) of the Guru Granth Sahib in Faridkot. He was out on bail. Protests erupted in Faridkot following ‘sacrilege’ incidents in 2015. In October 2015, police opened fire on protesters in Behbal Kalan, killing two people and injuring several others in Kotkapura, Faridkot.