Kidnapping racket run by US-based gangster busted

LUDHIANA: Khanna police on Thursday claimed to have unearthed a kidnapping racket being operated by US-based gangster Lovejeet Kang with the arrest of six members of the gang. As many as 13 pistols and other ammunition were seized.
Khanna SSP Amneet Kondal said a special campaign was launched to nab criminals who had been demanding extortion money from people on the directions of gangsters sitting abroad. She said a team under supervision of Dr Pragya Jain, SP Investigation Khanna, arrested a total of six gang members in the case after establishing forward and backward linkages.
The SSP said on February 26, police arrested Davinder Singh Bunty of Mansur Di Patti in Amritsar and Karanjot Singh Nona of Mohalla Azad Nagar in Amritsar from a checkpost at Alaud village along with four .32 bore pistols with four magazines.
The officer said the interrogation of accused revealed that all of them were acting on the directions of gangster Lovejit Kang who is presently in the United States. She said Kang had instructed them to abduct chosen targets and demand ransom worth several crores.
Khanna police said acting on the leads provided by the duo, police further arrested Kohinoor Singh Titu of Dhandari Kalan in Ludhiana and Harpreet Singh Honey of Ajitwal in Moga on February 27 and seized a .32 bore pistol with a magazine, three live rounds.
The SSP said police arrested Balkaran Singh of Sultanwind Road Amritsar on March 2 and Kamaljit Singh Cam of Bhila Kanjali village in Kapurthala on March 4 with four .32 bore pistols and six magazines.
Police said on March 7, two country-made .315 bore pistols were seized from Balkaran Singh. On Thursday, two .32 bore pistols with two magazines were seized from Kohinoor Singh.
Police officials said the accused were booked under relevant sections of the Arms Act and under Sections 384 (extortion), 385 (putting person in fear of injury in order to commit extortion), 386 (Extortion by putting a person in fear of death or grievous hurt) of the Indian Penal Code at Sadar Khanna police station. They said Lovejit Kang had a criminal history with an extortion-related case registered against him at Begowal police station in Kapurthala on January 27.