A mob fired at a joint team of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and the Uttar Pradesh police which were carrying out searches at Pilakhua, near Ghaziabad, on Sunday in connection with the killing of an RSS leader in Punjab. The mob threw stones at the team injuring a policeman, the NIA said.
An NIA spokesperson said that during the investigation into the killing of RSS leader Ravinder Gosain in Ludhiana, investigators came across the names of certain suspected arms smugglers who had supplied firearms to the accused in Punjab. The NIA said that Sikh extremist elements were suspected to be involved in Gosain’s killing.
An NIA team, with the assistance of the State police, conducted searches to apprehend the suspected arms suppliers in Meerut district during the intervening night of December 2 and 3, the spokesperson said in a statement.
Constable injured
On getting more leads, further raids were conducted at the residence of the suspect Malook at Nahali village in Ghaziabad on Sunday. A large crowd tried to obstruct the team, and some people opened fire on them, resulting in injury to Uttar Pradesh police constable Tahjib Khan, besides damage to official vehicles, the spokesperson said.
The mob staged multiple road blockades to obstruct the officials in the discharge of their duties. In self-defence, the U.P. police and NIA personnel also fired in the air, the spokesperson said.
Two being questioned
Two suspects are currently being questioned regarding their alleged involvement in the case.
Efforts are being made to locate Malook who is wanted in connection with the supply of arms and ammunition used in the killing in Punjab.
On November 30, the NIA registered a case to investigate the killing of Gosain, under various sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.
Gosain, the ‘Mukhya Shikshak’ of the Mohan shakha of the RSS, was shot dead outside his residence in Ludhiana’s Gagandeep Colony on October 17 by two unidentified assailants on a motorbike.
The Punjab police, which was earlier probing the case, arrested Ramandeep Singh and Hardeep Singh a few days after the incident.
Published - December 03, 2017 09:00 pm IST
