First organised crime case under BNS: Punjab Police books interstate gang

New Delhi: Punjab police registered the first case under the newly-introduced “organised crime” sections of the Bhartiya Nyay Sanhita, 2023 which attracts maximum punishment of life imprisonment. The interstate organised crime syndicate was booked under Section 111 of BNS, 2023 and the kingpin of the gang and four members were arrested from a flat in Mohali’s Kharar, Punjab Police said on Monday.

Under Section 111 of BNS, “If such offence has resulted in the death of any person, be punishable with death or imprisonment for life without the benefit of parole and shall also be liable to fine which shall not be less than Rs 10 lakh.” According to the Punjab police, the syndicate kingpin was identified as Jai Sharma alias Sukha Pistol Ambarsarya of Prem Nagar in Amritsar.

Director General of Police (DGP) Gaurav Yadav said the four members are Nikhil Sharma alias Lala of Sandhu Colony in Amritsar, Moni of Kot Khalsa in Amritsar, and Arpit Thakur and Karan Sharma of Bilaspur district in Himachal Pradesh. Sukha Pistol has seven cases pertaining to the Arms Act, snatching and theft registered against him, Yadav said. Police seized two .32 bore pistols, three magazines and eight live rounds from them.

DGP Yadav said police teams from Amritsar kept a vigil on the syndicate’s movement following reliable input that Sukha Pistol and his accomplices had gone to Khandwa in Madhya Pradesh to illegally procure weapons. After they returned to Punjab, the police traced their location in Kharar and conducted a raid in a flat, arresting the accused and seizing arms and ammunition, Yadav said.