Moga/Ferozepur, June 5

A 32-year-old youth, “wanted” by the Moga police, allegedly shot himself with a revolver at Jaimal Wala village under the Mallanwala police station in the Ferozepur district on Friday.

The youth has been identified as Pankaj Kumar Dhingra, alias Tinku, a resident of Faridkot city. Preliminary investigation by the Ferozepur police suggested no criminal case was registered against him. However, the Moga police suspected him of having links with gangsters, as claimed by relatives and family members.

Fearing arrest, Tinku had been on the run for the past few days. On Thursday evening, he visited his friend Gurpreet Singh’s house at Jaimal Wala village. Gurpreet claimed Tinku told him his (Tinku’s) mother and wife were picked up by the Moga police, due to which he was under stress.

“With the help of a local leader, I planned to make him surrender in a court, but Tinku took my revolver from the house and shot himself,” he told mediapersons.

The Ferozepur police later reached the spot and took the body into custody. Two licensed weapons — a revolver and a rifle — owned by Gurpreet were recovered from the spot. Tinku’s car was also impounded by the police. Officials of the Moga police were tightlipped on the incident. A senior official said the police were verifying his links with gangsters, particularly hawala racketeers and arms smugglers. The youth’s family claimed he killed himself apprehending torture at the hands of the Moga police. — TNS