Punjab police arrests suspect wanted in VHP Leader Vikas Bagga’s murder case

Chandigarh/Ludhiana, August 12, 2024: In a major breakthrough amidst the ongoing drive to make Punjab a safe and secure state as per directions of Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann, Counter Intelligence (CI) Ludhiana and Ludhiana Commissionerate Police have arrested a suspect, identified as Mukul Mishra, wanted in the murder case of Nangal-based Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) leader, said Director General of Police (DGP) Punjab Gaurav Yadav here on Monday. The case is being investigated by the National Investigation Agency (NIA).

    As per the information, a shopkeeper Vikas Prabhakar alias Vikas Bagga, pardhan of VHP Nangal Mandal was shot dead by two unidentified assailants at his shop situated on Railway Road in Nangal on the evening of April 13 this year. The assailants— one wearing a helmet and the other having face covered with muffler— came on a black scooty.

    The development came four months after Punjab Police has arrested both the assailants identified as Mandeep Kumar alias Mangi and Surinder Kumar alias Rikka after recovering two .32 bore Pistols and scooty used in the crime.

    DGP Gaurav Yadav said following excellent teamwork and scientific investigations, including financial trail and intelligence inputs, CI Ludhiana shared inputs with the Ludhiana Commissionerate Police and jointly launched an operation spread across Punjab and Jammu & Kashmir which led to the arrest of the accused Mukul Mishra, a resident of district Gonda in Uttar Pradesh (UP).

    He said that preliminary investigations have revealed that accused Mukul Mishra has facilitated the payment via his bank account to procure weapons used in Vikas Bagga’s murder. Police teams have also identified two more UP-based suspects including the person who procured weapons, he added.

    The DGP said that the arrested accused Mukul Mishra was also wanted in another case FIR No. 55 of 2024 registered under section 379-B of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and section 25 of the Arms Act at Police Station Division 2 Ludhiana. Further investigations are on and police teams are on manhunt to nab absconders, he added.