'Rs 20,000 contract, ISI link': Punjab Police on Gurdaspur cops killing case

According to the senior cop, the murder was committed for Rs 20,000

• Punjab police say ISI ordered killing of two cops near border
• One suspect arrested, another killed, third still absconding
• Killings linked to money, heroin smuggling, and drone arms drops

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A senior police official on Wednesday said that Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) was behind the killing of two policemen near the India-Pakistan border in Gurdaspur, Punjab.

Assistant sub-inspector Gurnam Singh and home guard Ashok Kumar, stationed at the Dorangla outpost in Adhian village, were found dead inside the checkpost on Sunday, roughly 2 km from the border.

Killings carried out at ISI's behest

Deputy inspector general of police (border range) Sandeep Goyal said that the accused carried out the attack on the police at the behest of Pakistan’s ISI. “Being residents of the village, they conducted a recce before targeting and killing the police officers. They did everything for money and acted on the instructions of the ISI,” Goyal was quoted in an NDTV report.

According to the senior cop, the murder was committed for Rs 20,000.

Police have arrested one suspect and shot dead another in an encounter in connection with the murder, the officer said. The third accused remains absconding, and search operations are underway.

The Punjab Police identified the trio as Ranjit Singh (19) and Inderjit Singh (21), both from Adhian village, and Dilawar Singh (19) of Alinangal village.

On Sunday, at about 8.15 am, Adhian village sarpanch Kamaljeet Singh visited the local checkpost and found the ASI and the home guard dead with bullet wounds. He had earlier called the Dorangla SHO, telling him that the two policemen were not answering his calls.

While the ASI's body was found on a chair with his hands in his pockets, the home guard was lying dead on a cot, the police said.

The area where the bodies were found is a hotbed of heroin smuggling and arms drop-offs by drones from across the border.

Posters allegedly issued by an outfit calling itself Tehreek-e-Taliban Hindustan (TTH) circulated on social media, claiming responsibility for the killings.