Punjab encounter: AK rifle, pistols recovered; gangster wanted to hurl grenade at police

In the aftermath of the Punjab encounter, Republic has accessed inside details of the Attari operation which suggest that gangster Manpreet Singh was about to hurl a hand grenade at the police when he was shot at. The hand grenade was spotted near Mannu's body after the encounter. 

Sources have revealed that an AK rifle, AK magazine, 2 pistols with magazines, and several AK and pistol rounds have been recovered from the two slain gangsters by the Anti-Gangster Task Force of Punjab Police. The police suspect a local hand that aided the gangsters' to pick the hideout. A team of forensic experts is currently at the house where two gangsters were killed.

On Wednesday, a fierce encounter broke out between a team of the Punjab Police and the two gangsters in the Chicha Bhakna village of Amritsar district. The two accused identified as Jagroop Singh Roopa and Manpreet Singh were involved in the killing of singer-politician Sidhu Moosewala. They were gunned down by the police team after a heavy exchange of fire.

Addressing the media, DCP Amritsar MS Bhullar said, "We wanted to catch them alive but they started firing and they were killed in the cross-firing. The forensic team is investigating the bullets and AK-47 recovered. Around 31 live rounds of AK47, AK47 rifle, 45 bore and 9 mm pistol, 02 magazines. The area will remain cordoned for 2 days. 

He added, "A car dropped them here- we are looking for it. A broken mobile was found, and a forensic team is looking into it. They had grenades, we asked them to surrender but they didn’t. No one escaped from the terror site. Some tablets were also found. They came here yesterday only."

'Big nexus broken': Punjab Police

During the encounter, three police officials Head Constable Surinder Pal, Assistant of Sub-Inspector Baljinder Singh, Assistant of Sub-Inspector Suhdev Singh, and journalist Sikander Mattu also sustained injuries. While an AK-47 and a pistol were recovered after the encounter, a forensic team also reached the site for further investigation. 

Addressing a briefing, the Punjab Police said, "A big nexus has been broken. They were all involved with Lawrence Bishnoi. It's a message to all the related gangsters. They need to surrender otherwise this is the only outcome. We got information about their movement. From early morning today, we were keeping an eye on them. The encounter started in the morning and ran for around 4-4.5 hours. Punjab Police showed great patience."

On May 29, Sidhu Moosewala was travelling in his own car, with two other people -- his friend, and cousin -- when a car came from behind, and two from the front, and opened indiscriminate fire on his vehicle. In all, around 30 rounds were fired by the assailants at Moosewala’s car. All three people in the car sustained injuries. The singer had 19 “firearm wounds” on his body, caused by bullets and pellets, and died within 15 minutes of the attack.