Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, June 9

Carrying a reward of Rs 10 lakh, most-wanted gangster Jaipal Singh Bhullar, alias Manjit Singh, was the son of a retired Assistant Sub-Inspector of the Punjab Police. Jaipal was wanted in Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan and Himachal Pradesh for over 40 cases related to murder, extortion, kidnapping, robbery and smuggling.

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He had succeeded in evading arrest for five years and was known as a master of surreptitious movement where he seldom used a mobile phone. Jaipal was a hammer-thrower and a budding talent at Speed Fund Academy, a Punjab Government sports training centre in Ludhiana. He met another player and small-time criminal Happy at the academy.

In July 2004, they carried out the kidnapping of seven-year-old Chirag, son of a cinema hall owner in Ludhiana. After his arrest, he came in touch with other gangsters in jail. Jaipal became close to Rajiv, alias Raja, when the latter landed there in 2006 for loot and murder of three Ludhiana jewellers. Jaipal and Raja ganged up and also became partners in crime with notorious gangster Shera Khubban.

In January 2009, both helped Raja flee from police custody at the Barnala bus stand. In another crime, they robbed a gun house in Hoshiarpur, looted money from banks in Panchkula and Mohali, robbed a Chandigarh businessman and a BJP leader in Panchkula, and jacked several flashy cars on highways.

In June 2009, Raja and some of the gang members were arrested by the Panchkula police. A month later, Jaipal and his team were arrested by the Chandigarh police. They were taken on production warrants to 27 police stations in Punjab, Haryana and Delhi. But in most cases, they were acquitted with witnesses reluctant to speak up.