PIONEEREDGE NEWS SERVICE | Haldwani
Nainital police have booked 16 people under the Gangster Act in connection with the firing incident during the Betalghat block Pramukh election earlier this month. The case has been registered at Betalghat police station against gang leader Amritpal alias Pannu, a resident of Gadarpur, Udham Singh Nagar, along with 15 others.
According to Nainital senior superintendent of police Prahlad Narayan Meena, the case was filed after a supporter of a candidate allegedly opened fire on rivals during the election. He stated that the gang led by Amritpal had been involved in activities that spread fear and disrupted public life. The group is accused of engaging in assaults, firing, intimidation, looting and brandishing weapons in the area.
The accused named in the case include Amritpal alias Pannu, Gurjeet Singh alias Paras, Pradeep Singh alias Soker, Virendra alias Vicky Arya, Pankaj Papola, Prakash Bhatt, Ravindra alias Ravi, Yash Bhatnagar alias Yashu, Deepak Singh Rawat, Hemant Balodi, Rohit Pandey, Sandeep Kholiya, Manoj Kholiya, Nikku Shahi, Sandeep Badhani and Rahul Badhani.
Meena said that as per police records, Amritpal and Gurjeet already face serious charges in Ramnagar police station. Besides this, Pradeep has seven criminal cases registered against him. Hemant has cases related to attempted murder and the Arms Act while Rohit also faces several serious charges.
The SSP stated that the gang had been operating in an organised manner and carrying out incidents of firing, assaults, intimidation and extortion. He added that strict action will follow under the Gangster Act, including investigation of the gang members’ properties.
