Delhi police arrest two shooters of Arsh Dalla gang

The Delhi police on Thursday arrested two shooters of a criminal group linked to gangster-turned-terrorist Arsh Dalla.

On being intercepted by a Special Cell team on the intervening night of Wednesday and Thursday, one of them opened fire while the other tried to lob a grenade and escape.

Both shooters are wanted for the murder of Punjab Congress leader Baljinder Singh Balli, who was shot dead at his home near Moga on September 18. They are believed to owe allegiance to the gang operated by Canada-based Arshdeep Dalla, alias Arsh Dalla, who was designated as an “individual terrorist” by the government of India in January this year.

According to the Ministry of Home Affairs, Arsh Dalla has a reputation for generating funds and providing logistical support to gangsters and criminals.

He is associated with the proscribed group Khalistan Tiger Force (KTF) and was close to the group’s chief Hardeep Singh Nijjar, who was gunned down outside a gurdwara in Canada’s British Columbia province on June 18 this year.

Nijjar’s killing has resulted in a full-blown diplomatic row between Canada and India.

According to a police officer, they intercepted the shooters on Outer Ring Road. “They were asked to surrender but one of them, Krishan, fired at the police team,” the officer said.

The second gangster, Gurinder, took out a hand grenade from his bag but before he could pull its safety pin, both were overpowered.

The police recovered a hand grenade, a pistol and five cartridges from them.

Another officer said the shooters had been shifting from one place to another since the murder of the Congress leader.

“They were hiding in villages of Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and had recently come to Delhi,” the officer said.