Alleging fake encounter, the family of slain gangster Vickey Gounder on Sunday sought a magisterial probe into his death. The family maintained that they may also approach the Punjab and Haryana High Court.
The 29-year-old Gounder alias Harjinder Singh Bhullar alias Jinder, with his accomplice Prema lahoria, was shot dead by Punjab Police in 30-minute-long encounter in Sriganganagar’s Pakki village on Rajasthan-Punjab border on Friday evening.
His cremation took place on Sunday at his native village Sarawan Bodla in lambi, Bathinda, amidst tight police security. large number of people turned out to attend his cremation.
Heavy police deployment was made around the cremation ground, and Gounder’s house. Since Saturday, the Police had been posted on all the routes leading to Sarrao Bodla village.
Police officials said that it was being done after considering the law and order situation, so that the villagers do not face any problem.
The police has increased the vigil in the city especially after a threat by the Khuban gang. Special checkposts have also been made on the main roads of the city and special eye was kept on the youth.
Even though his family members were unhappy with Gounder’s criminal activities and had disowned him, the news of his death has come as a shock for them. Gounder’s mother and sister were inconsolable.
Gounder’s family members have claimed that he was killed in a fake encounter. “Both lahoria and Vicky were planning to surrender. They had even made some WhatsApp calls to the police officers a day before the killing,” they said.
His maternal uncle claimed that Gounder had called him on Whatsapp hours before the encounter informing that he was going to meet his old batch-mate Inspector Vikram Brar, and by 6:30 pm, we got the news of his encounter.
“Inspector Brar trapped him in fake encounter...I told him that he should not trust them so much but he decided to go ahead,” he added.
Gounder had fled the maximum-security Nabha jail on November 27, 2016, and was the prime accused in gangster Sukha Kahlwan’s killing. He was among the ‘Punjab’s most wanted’ list with more than 10 cases of murder, gangwar, jailbreak, extortion and smuggling registered against him across the state.
He was also under watch for his possible links with the radicals as well as Pakistan’s intelligence — ISI.
It has been learnt that Gounder had recently obtained an automatic assault rifle from Pakistan through his handler Ramanjit Singh alias Romi (Hong Kong), who is also wanted by the Punjab Police.