Ahmedabad: Gujarat has emerged as a refuge of choice for suspects wanted in some of Punjab’s most high-profile criminal cases — from the murder of Punjabi singer Sidhu Moosewala in 2022 to the killing of social media influencer Mad Sandhu. Gujarat police records show that the Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) has arrested 25 accused wanted in 11 Punjab-linked cases from across the state. The cases involve alleged links to murders, political killings, arms and grenade supply, and terror-related offences in Punjab.The locations where suspects were found span the length of the state–Kutch, Bharuch, Nadiad, Mehsana, Halol, Jamnagar, Ahmedabad, Deesa, Palanpur, and Vapi. Several were found working as industrial labourers, helpers, or factory workers. Others allegedly provided shelter or logistical support to wanted suspects using contacts from their home states.Separately, the Ahmedabad Crime Branch on September 8 arrested Parminder Prasad, alias Parminder Kaka, an alleged shooter in the Mad Sandhu murder case. Sandhu, a social media influencer, was killed in Amritsar in October 2026. Three suspects connected to that case were eventually traced in Gujarat.A senior Gujarat police officer said the “state’s industrial base, transport networks, ports, and highway establishments made it structurally useful as a place to vanish.” He added, “People involved in crimes come here looking for work, particularly in industrial areas. Some also find shelter through contacts from their native places. We are probing whether any local persons helped them. If a nexus emerges, legal action will follow.”The arrests were made through coordinated information-sharing between Punjab Police and Gujarat agencies, followed by operations at multiple locations. The pattern that emerges is not limited to major cities — suspects sought refuge in smaller industrial towns and labour settlements as readily as in Ahmedabad.
