Ludhiana: Police killed two suspected hitmen in an encounter Sunday afternoon, intercepting them just one km from a memorial event they were allegedly sent to attack in Ludhiana.Police commissioner Swapan Sharma said the two, identified as Karanjot Singh alias Nona and Sandeep Singh, both from Amritsar, were sent by wanted gangsters Balwinder Singh alias Dony Bal and Shaganpreet Singh, key operatives of the Davinder Bambiha gang, to open fire at a blood donation camp. The event was organised on Dugri Road in memory of former Congress village sarpanch Rajwinder Singh Grewal alias Ravi Khwajke, who was shot dead by Bambiha and his associates during a wedding function near Gill Road on Feb 20, 2016.Joint teams from the Anti-Gangster Task Force (AGTF) and Ludhiana city police engaged the suspects who were on a motorcycle near the Atam Nagar police post after receiving an intelligence tip-off.Sharma said the suspects opened fire on police officers after being cornered, hitting a police vehicle twice during an exchange of more than 25 rounds before being shot dead in retaliatory fire.Police recovered three 9mm automatic handguns, including a Turkish-made Zigana and a Pakistani Glock, along with 50 live rounds and a motorcycle from the encounter site. Police said the weapons were smuggled across the border.Police suspect their additional accomplices on separate vehicles may have escaped.Both the shooters had criminal background. While Karanjot had been booked in Arms Act, robbery and NDPS Act cases, Sandeep faced one criminal case, according to police.AGTF deputy superintendent Rajan Parminder Singh said, “Police suspect the gunmen had a particular target to kill at the memorial. However, the kind of weapons and ammunition they were carrying, they could have caused multiple casualties.”Police investigations are ongoing.In Jan 2022, a local court convicted a Moga resident and sentenced him to rigorous life imprisonment in the 2016 Khwajke murder case. Three other accused, Bambiha, Kamaljit Singh Bunty and Jaspreet Singh Jumpy, had died in separate police encounters.
