A joint team of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and the Uttar Pradesh Police, carrying out searches to arrest a suspected arms supplier in Ghaziabad on Sunday in connection with the killing of Punjab RSS leader Ravinder Gosain in Ludhiana, was fired upon and pelted with stones by a mob, leading to injury to a policeman, the agency said. During the melee, the suspected arm supplier managed to flee.
Giving details, a NIA spokesperson said that during the course of investigation into the killing of RSS leader Ravinder Gosain in Ludhiana, investigators came across the names of certain suspected arm smugglers who had supplied firearms to the accused in Punjab.
An NIA team, with the assistance of the State police, conducted searches to apprehend the suspected arm suppliers in Meerut district during the intervening night of December 2 and 3, the spokesman said in a statement.
On getting more leads, further raids were conducted at the residence of suspect Malook at Nahali village in Ghaziabad this morning.
During the raid, a large crowd of men and women tried to obstruct the police and NIA team and some people opened fire on them, resulting in injury to Uttar Pradesh Police constable Tahjib Khan, besides damage to official vehicles, the spokesman said.
The firing was followed by stone pelting and the mob also staged multiple road blockades to obstruct the officials in discharge of their duties.
In self-defence, the UP Police and NIA personnel also fired in the air, said the spokesman, adding that two suspects are currently being questioned regarding their alleged involvement in the case.
Efforts are being made to locate Malook who is wanted in connection with the supply of arms and ammunition used in the killing in Punjab.
On November 30, the NIA registered the case to probe the killing of Gosain under various Sections of the IPC and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.
Gosain, the ‘Mukhya Shikshak’ of the Mohan Shakha of the RSS, was shot dead outside his residence in Ludhiana’s Gagandeep Colony on October 17 by two unidentified assailants riding a motorbike.
The Punjab Police, which was earlier probing the case, arrested two people — Ramandeep Singh and Hardeep Singh — a few days after the incident.
“It has also come to light that a conspiracy to destabilise Punjab has been hatched by Sikh extremist elements and others located in various parts of the world including the UK, France, Italy, the UAE and Pakistan,” the NIA spokesman had said.