Police on Monday arrested gangster Navpreet Singh alias Nav Lahoria, who heads the Lawrence Bishnoi and Sampat Nehra gangs and is wanted by police of four neighbouring states, along with two of his accomplices.

The three had fled after an encounter on Saturday when police nabbed two of their aides — Mani Dullar of Patiala and Navneet Singh of Haryana — two days after they allegedly snatched a car at gunpoint from a local resident.

Lahoria had taken charge of the two gangs as gangster Lawrence Bishnoi is in Rajasthan’s Bharatpur jail while gangster Sampat Nehra is lodged in a Faridkot jail.

“As kingpin of these two gangs, Lahoria reorganised their members and was mostly active in areas around Sonepat and Delhi, where they committed a dozen criminal incidents,” Patiala senior superintendent of police (SSP) Mandeep Singh Sidhu said at a press conference.

Police have recovered six pistols from them.

Besides Lahoria, a resident of Jatta Patti village in Patiala’s Samana, those arrested on Monday are Ankur Singh alias Mani and Prashant alias Chhotu of Hassupur village in Uttar Pradesh’s Hapur district. The accused are involved in criminal activities in Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh. A total of 17 first information reports (FIRs) of murder, extortion and loot are registered against them. They had allegedly murdered a jeweller in Ambala after robbing him of Rs 35 lakh.

“We were on our toes after they escaped during the encounter. They were nabbed near Dhubla village near the Punjab and Haryana border in an operation carried out on the intervening night of Sunday and Monday. We have informed the police of the states where they have committed crimes,” the SSP said.

He added that Lahoria came in contact of Bishnoi and Nehra in 2016 in a jail. “After procuring bail, he committed 10 crimes in the last three months. He was planning a major loot in Patiala or nearby areas for which they had snatched a vehicle,” he said.

PG accommodation owner booked

Police have booked Inderjit Singh, the owner of paying guest accommodation where the gangsters were staying before Saturday’s encounter. “A case under Section 188 of the Indian Penal Code has been registered as he did not inform police about those staying in his PG accommodation. We will initiate cases against owners of other accommodations for not informing police about the occupants,” the SSP said.

First Published: Feb 05, 2019 14:02 IST