
The main suspect behind the abduction and murder of a man in Kapurthala in April this year has been arrested, police officials said on Thursday.
The accused, Navjot Singh, alias Mani Baba, a resident of Mushakved in Kapurthala district, was arrested in Uttarakhand by a joint team of the CIA staff, city police and the technical cell.
Superintendent of police (investigation) Harinder Singh Gill said the case was registered on April 23 on the complaint of Jaspal Singh, who alleged that his son Deepak was at a gas agency on Aujla road when Navjot Singh, along with Lovepreet Kumar, alias Preet, alias Lala, Rajandeep Singh and two unidentified associates, assaulted and forcibly abducted him in a Swift car (PB08FM4042) before murdering him. An old rivalry is suspected to be the reason behind the crime.
An FIR was registered at City Kapurthala police station under Sections 103 (murder), 140(1) (kidnapping, abduction) and 191(3) (rioting) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, along with Sections 25, 54 and 59 of the Arms Act.
Lovepreet of Dyalpur in Jalandhar and Lucky of Lakhan Kalan in Kapurthala district were arrested, but Navjot remained absconding. Acting on intelligence inputs, the police traced and apprehended him from Uttarakhand on June 24.
SP Gill said the accused was produced before a local court, which remanded him to three days of police custody for further interrogation. He added that Navjot has a criminal history and is involved in 12 previous criminal cases. Police said further investigation is underway to uncover additional facts and identify the remaining accused involved in the case.