Chandigarh, July 14: In a major breakthrough, Punjab police arrest 13 operatives including nine sharp shooters in Lawrence-Rinda gang. The Jalandhar Rural Police with the help of special team chased down accused persons after a two-week-long operation. Also Read: Punjab: Sanyukt Kisan Morcha to hold nationwide protest on July 31 Those arrested have been identified as Avtar alias Mangal, Jobanpreet, Akashdeep, Harpreet alias Kaka, Arashdeep, Lovjit, and Resham alias Bao, all residents of Tarn Taran; Gurpreet alias Ghumma Shooter, Bobby alias Baba and Sonu alias Pula of Ferozepur; Gurpreet, Gopi and Harman Kalsi of Jalandhar; Balwinder of Kapurthala. Apart from arresting the sharp shooters, the Police have also recovered 13 weapons along with 18 cartridges from their possession. The Inspector General of Police (IGP) Sukhchain Singh Gill said that after the arrest of 11 members of the gang on June 29, 2022, the Jalandhar Rural Police have been continuously working on some leads to arrest the remaining associates of this gang. All the arrested persons are history-sheeters and are facing cases of heinous crime in the districts including Ludhiana, Amritsar, Ferozepur, Tarn Taran, Jalandhar, Khanna, Mohali, and Patiala, he added. He stated that the group was active in most districts in Punjab for the last four years and the arrested persons had been involved in crimes including murders, armed dacoity, organized extortion and highway robbery. “After busting this gang, the Punjab Police has thwarted at least five murders and seven armed dacoities and robberies,” said IGP Sukhchain Gill. SSP Jalandhar Rural Swapan Sharma said that, as per preliminary investigation, this gang was being operated by Ghumma and Gopi, associated with Markas alias Massa, who has been taking directions from Jaggu Bhagwanpuria and Lawrence Bishnoi. Meanwhile, Massa, a resident of Ferozepur is in jail with 18 criminal cases registered against him. Giving details on arrested persons, the SSP said that Gurpreet Gopi and Jobanpreet, who have seven criminal cases registered against them were planning to eliminate three members of the Bambiha-Pinda gang. He said that Resham alias Bao and Gurpreet alias Ghumma shooter, also have seven criminal cases registered against them were planning to terminate two persons from their arch-rival Bambiha-Gounder gang. Also Read: Delhi: Fire breaks out in Paharganj hotel, 10 people rescued Meanwhile, the police are now working to identify and nab those persons who had provided harbors, financial and logistic support to the accused persons besides arresting arms suppliers from Madhya Pradesh. More arrests are expected in this case in the near future. -PTC News