Chandigarh, Jan 12 (PTI) Punjab Police on Monday said it has arrested seven accused, including two shooters, in connection with the killing of a sarpanch, belonging to the ruling Aam Aadmi Party, at a wedding in Amritsar on January 4.

Gangster Prabh Dasuwal, who is said to be based in Portugal, was the mastermind of the murder of Jharmal Singh, carried out due to old enmity, Punjab Director General of Police (DGP) Gaurav said and announced that the state is set to launch a decisive campaign against organised crime, with a focus on extraditing criminals who are operating from abroad.

The two shooters -- Sukhraj Singh alias Gunga (20) from Patti in Tarn Taran district and Karamjit Singh of village Passanwal from Gurdaspur district -- were arrested from Raipur in Chhattisgarh on Sunday in coordination with the local police and central agencies, the DGP told reporters.

They were produced before a court in Raipur and taken into custody after obtaining transit remand. They are being brought to Amritsar for further investigation, he said.

The other five arrested accused, who were part of the support and logistical module, were arrested from Punjab, the DGP said.

Jharmal Singh, sarpanch of Valthoa village in Tarn Taran, was shot at point-blank range. CCTV footage showed the two shooters walking into the wedding venue, one of them pulling out a gun and firing at Singh's head before fleeing the spot.

Singh was rushed to a hospital, but he succumbed to his injuries.

Citing a string of killings, the opposition has stepped up its attack on the AAP government in Punjab over the alleged "deteriorating law and order" and demanded Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann's resignation.

Stressing on the state government's zero-tolerance policy against organised crime, the DGP said that criminals operating in Punjab "will not be able to hide even in hell" and warned that anyone involved in violence will be tracked down from any nook, within or outside the country, to face the law.

The DGP said investigations revealed that gangster Prabh Dasuwal had old enmity with sarpanch Jharmal and had even fired at him earlier, clearly indicating a pre-planned and well-orchestrated conspiracy. Earlier on Tuesday, an alleged gangster, Harnoor Singh, who was also an accused in the murder case of the sarpanch, was killed in an exchange of fire with police in Tarn Taran district, officials said.

The DGP, accompanied by Additional Director General of Police Counter Intelligence Amit Prasad, Inspector General of Police Headquarters Dr Sukhchain Singh Gill and Commissioner of Police Amritsar Gurpreet Singh Bhullar, said the swift breakthrough reflected the firm resolve of Punjab Police to act decisively against organised crime.

Providing details of other five arrested accused, DGP Gaurav Yadav said they have been identified as Jobanpreet Singh (19) of village Bhai Ladhu in Tarn Taran, Harpreet Singh alias Happy (27) of village Bahadur Nagar in Tarn Taran, Jobanpreet Singh (20), Kulwinder Singh alias Kinda (20) and Armandeep Singh (18), the latter three are residents of village Kalsian Kalan in Tarn Taran.

He said Sukhraj Singh alias Gunga has a prior criminal history involving theft and Arms Act cases, and was also involved in the Rajwinder Singh alias Raj, Sarpanch murder case.

He said the case was taken up on the highest priority and multiple specialised teams were constituted to investigate the murder.

"The investigation, aided by a combination of technical surveillance and precise human intelligence, enabled police teams to identify both shooters, Sukhraj Singh alias Gunga and Karamjeet Singh, involved in the crime," DGP Gaurav Yadav said.

He said sustained inter-state coordination, intelligence-led tracking and close cooperation with central agencies and Chhattisgarh Police led to the arrest of both shooters from Raipur.

"Both accused (shooters) were deliberately changing locations across multiple states, including Maharashtra, Delhi, Bihar, Punjab and Chhattisgarh, and were using forged Aadhaar cards to conceal their identity and evade police detection," he said.

The DGP said another police team, with assistance from the State Special Operation Cell, Mohali, arrested two more accused, both named Jobanpreet Singh, from Mohali.

He said Harpreet Singh alias Happy was arrested from Valtoha, while Kulwinder Singh alias Kinda and Armandeep Singh were arrested from the Bhikhiwind area of Tarn Taran.

He said that investigations revealed these five accused played a crucial role in the conspiracy by providing logistics, shelter, weapons and a motorcycle to the shooters.

Yadav said the probe has further revealed that the shooters and the other five accused did not know each other and were acting independently, solely on the instructions of Prabh Dasuwal.

The DGP said that after the success of the "Yudh Nashian Virudh" anti-drug campaign, the Punjab government, led by Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann, is set to launch a decisive campaign against organised crime, with a focus on extraditing criminals sitting abroad.

"Whosoever is committing violence or involved in shooting in Punjab, Punjab Police will nab the miscreant from any nook, in or outside the country, to face the law," he said. PTI SUN RT RT