Ludhiana: Police have arrested a 23-year-old waiter and seized four illegal guns in connection with a ₹1-crore extortion plot and a shooting targeting a local grain merchant.The suspect, Robin from Himanyupura, was apprehended near a village cremation ground while in possession of three .30-bore pistols and a 9-mm handgun. Investigators claim these weapons were used during the April 14 attack on the shop of commission agent Harish Chander at Payal.Robin claimed Hardeep Singh ‘Laddi’ or Azad ‘Nihang’ from Manjali Kalan village had left the weapons at his rented home. Robin as a waiter and Hardeep as a bouncer had come into contact at a wedding, assistant sub-inspector (ASI) Roshan Lal of the Sadar police station has said.The investigation has revealed a complex web of associates, including Shaganpreet Singh, the former manager of late Punjabi singer Shubdeep Singh “Sidhu Moosewala“. Shaganpreet is a fugitive reported to be residing in Australia. His father, Saudagar Singh, was earlier arrested on the charges of conducting a “recce” of the targeted commission agent’s premises. Police claim Saudagar passed this information to his son, who then facilitated the extortion attempt at Payal led by overseas gangster Doni Bal.It was in late March that Chander received voice messages from a foreign number, threatening him to pay up or “take care” of his children. Following the subsequent shooting at Chander’s shop, a joint operation between the Khanna and Ludhiana police led to the identification of several co-conspirators. This included bouncer Hardeep Singh, who allegedly supplied the weapons to Robin and the shooters — Umesh Kumar ‘Sonu Chhanga’ and Gaurav ‘Gola’.The Khanna police had arrested Nirmal Singh, his woman accomplice Rani, both from Chhota Suratpur; another Nirmal; Kaku; and Hardeep, linking them to the surveillance, weapon supply, and execution of the Payal grain market shooting. They are now moving to secure a Lookout Circular for Shaganpreet Singh to track his movements abroad. Shaganpreet’s name has prior ties to the 2021 Vicky Middukhera murder, predating Moosewala’s killing (May 29, 2022), though he denies involvement.
