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, Anti-Gangster Task Force (AGTF), Punjab, in a joint operation with Bathinda Police, apprehended a wanted criminal identified as Ranjit Singh alias Sapp of village Bangi Nihal Singh in Bathinda, said Director General of Police (DGP) Punjab Gaurav Yadav here on Saturday.
Police teams have also recovered one illegal .32 bore pistol along with four live cartridges from his possession. DGP Gaurav Yadav said that preliminary investigation has revealed that the accused is a close associate of gangster Rammi Machana and was wanted in two criminal cases.
He said that earlier, police had recovered 130 grams of heroin, one 9 MM country-made pistol with six live cartridges, and one country-made .12 bore pistol from his residence. His mother, Paramjit Kaur, was arrested at that time, while the accused had managed to flee, he said.
The DGP said that further investigation is on to establish backward and forward linkages in this case. Sharing operation details, Additional Director General of Police (ADGP) AGTF Promod Ban said that acting on reliable inputs, police teams from AGTF led by DSP AGTF Rajan Parminder in coordination with Bathinda Police has arrested the accused Ranjit Singh alias Sapp from the village Bhagwanpura in Bathinda.
Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Bathinda Amneet Kondal said that Ranjit Singh has a criminal background with multiple cases registered against him, including murder, house trespass with intent to cause hurt, Arms Act, Prisons Act, and NDPS Act violations. In this regard, a case FIR No. 139 dated 20.09.2025 has already been registered under section 21(b) of the NDPS Act and sections 25 of the Arms Act at Police Station Sangat in Bathinda.