Gounder’s aide held after shootout, 2 flee

Gurdaspur, June 11
A 60-member team of the Gurdaspur police arrested Gian Kharal, a key aide of wanted gangster Vicky Gounder, in the wee hours today after a shootout.
Kharal sustained a bullet injury in the leg, while his two accomplices escaped. The encounter occurred near the Tugalwal police chowki, falling under Kahnuwan police station. Kharal, wanted in more than a dozen cases, was admitted to the Civil Hospital amid tight security.
Bhupinderjit Singh Virk, SSP, said: “We got a tip-off that Kharal and his aides were planning to take a route near Tugalwal while leaving the district. A team led by SP Harpal Singh and DSPs Dev Dutt Sharma and AD Singh intercepted a Bolero. Kharal stopped the vehicle, but he was shot at while trying to escape. In the ensuing melee, his accomplices fled.”
Gounder, Kharal and Sukh Bhikhariwal were involved in the April 20 shootout near the Kahnuwan bypass in which three members of a rival gang were killed. Kharal and others had allegedly kidnapped an Amritsar doctor on May 19.
“Kharal has given vital information about Gounder, but we can’t reveal it at this stage,” an investigator said.
A pistol, three cartridges and three shells were recovered from the spot.
Kharal and his unidentified accomplices, who opened fire at the cops, have been booked under Section 307 (attempt to murder) of the IPC.