THE ARREST FOLLOWS THE NOVEMBER 12 AND NOVEMBER 26 POLICE ACTIONS, ACCUSED PROVIDED WEAPONS & LOGISTIC SUPPORT TO THE MODULE
Pinki Saini/Dera Bassi/Mohali
The ongoing drive against organised crime, launched under the leadership of Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann and DGP Punjab Gaurav Yadav, achieved yet another breakthrough when SAS Nagar Police arrested another operative of foreign-based gangsters Goldy Dhillon and Mandeep Spain during backward-linkages investigation amid the crackdown on the module.
This development follows the police action on November 12, in which SAS Nagar Police in a joint operation with AGTF arrested two shooters, and on November 26, when four shooters were apprehended by SAS Nagar Police and AGTF after an exchange of fire near the Dera Bassi–Ambala highway. During that operation, two police personnel were hit on their bulletproof jackets and two accused sustained injuries in the retaliatory fire. Seven pistols and seventy live cartridges were recovered from them, said Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) SAS Nagar, Shri Harman Deep Singh Hans, here on Thursday.
The arrested accused has been identified as Rajat Kumar alias Rajan, resident of Village Jansua, PS Sadar Rajpura, District Patiala.
Providing operational details, the SSP stated that following the earlier arrests of six operatives in two separate police actions, further backward-linkage investigation was undertaken by a special team under the supervision of SP Rural Manpreet Singh and DSP Dera Bassi Bikramjit Singh Brar to identify remaining members of the module.
During the investigation, the role of Rajat Kumar surfaced, revealing that he had been facilitating movement, arranging shelter, and providing weapons to other operatives. Acting on this information, joint teams of AGTF and SAS Nagar Police, led by SHO Dera Bassi Inspector Sumit Mor, apprehended the accused near the Dera Bassi bus stand yesterday afternoon, the SSP added.
Divulging further details, the SSP stated that the accused has a criminal background with two previous cases related to snatching and Arms Act offences registered against him in Punjab and Haryana. Preliminary investigation has revealed that he came in contact with gang members during his jail term in 2019 and had recently been acting directly under the instructions of his handler, Mandeep (Spain)—an aide of gangster Goldy Dhillon, said the SSP.
The accused was wanted in FIR No. 0345 dated 26.11.2025 under Sections 109, 111, 221, 132, 3(5) of BNS and Section 25 of the Arms Act, registered at Police Station Dera Bassi, said SSP.
The SSP further informed that, with this arrest, a total of seven operatives linked to the Goldy Dhillon module have been apprehended during the ongoing crackdown. So far, nine pistols and eighty live cartridges have been recovered.
Further investigation is underway, and the arrest is expected to help uncover the broader logistical and financial network supporting these gangsters, the SSP added.