Two notorious gangsters from Punjab killed in a shootout with police in Kolkata hideout

Vineet Kumar Goyal, Additional Director General of Police, STF, West Bengal.

Two dreaded gangsters from Punjab were killed in a shootout with the police in broad daylight in a plush residential complex in Kolkata’s New Town area on June 9. According to the Special Task Force (STF) of Kolkata Police, which carried out the operation, the two gangsters, Jaspreet Singh and Jaipal Bhullar, were wanted in a number of cases in Punjab, including the murder of two policemen on May 15 this year. The two carried rewards of Rs 10 lakh and Rs 5 lakh respectively on their heads.

Addressing a press conference, Vineet Kumar Goyal, Additional Director General of Police, STF, said, “When we got information and surrounded the area to arrest them, they immediately started firing on us. One of our officers was injured. We fired back in self-defence and these two people died.” The injured STF officer, Kartik Ghosh, was hospitalised. The police had received information on the location of the criminals at around noon, and, after reconnaissance, began the operation to arrest them around 3 p.m.

Five sophisticated pistols, 89 rounds of live ammunition and around Rs.7 lakh in cash were recovered from the flat in which the duo were hiding. Investigation is on to ascertain how long they had been holed up in Kolkata. According to the STF, the other culprits involved in the murder of the two policemen in Punjab have already been nabbed by the Punjab Police. “We are working with the Punjab Police and other agencies to establish their network and find out about their other dealings,” said Goyal. Jaspreet and Jaipal were also allegedly involved in a number of crimes in Punjab, including murder, bank robbery and looting a jewellery shop.