ACCUSED WERE ARRESTED WITH THE ASSISTANCE OF SIKKIM POLICE, MUMBAI POLICE, WEST BENGAL STF, CENTRAL AGENCIES, AND THE LOCAL HOWRAH POLICE, EFFORTS ARE ONGOING TO IDENTIFY AND APPREHEND REMAINING ASSOCIATES TO COMPLETELY UNRAVEL THE CASE: DGP GAURAV YADAV
Face2News/Mohali/Chandigarh
In the culmination of an intelligence-based operation spanning Punjab, Maharashtra, Karnataka, West Bengal and Sikkim, a team of Punjab Police’s Anti-Gangster Task Force (AGTF) has arrested two shooters and their accomplice involved in the murder of Kabaddi Promoter Kanwar Digvijay Singh alias Rana Balachauria from Howrah in West Bengal, said Director General of Police (DGP) Punjab Gaurav Yadav here on Monday.
Those arrested have been identified as Karan Pathak alias Karan Defaulter, a resident of Amritsar; Tarandeep Singh, a resident of Barhewal in Ludhiana and Akashdeep, a resident of Upala in Tarn Taran. The accused were arrested with the assistance of Sikkim Police, Mumbai Police, West Bengal STF, Central Agencies, and the local Howrah Police.
As per the information, victim Rana Balachauria was shot dead by assailants during a Kabaddi tournament at Sohana in SAS Nagar on December 15, 2025. As of now, a total of five accused persons have been arrested. Two accused persons identified as Aishdeep Singh and Davinder were arrested.
DGP Gaurav Yadav said that Karan Pathak and Tarandeep Singh are shooters, while, Akashdeep, a close relative of foreign-based handler Amar Khabe Rajputa, has also been apprehended for providing shelter and logistic support to the shooters. All arrested persons are being brought to Punjab for further investigation, he added.
The DGP said that efforts are ongoing to identify and apprehend remaining associates to completely unravel the case.
Sharing operational details, Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) AGTF Gurmeet Singh Chauhan said that following the crime, AGTF immediately associated itself with the investigation due to clear indications of organized, intergang rivalry and the involvement of foreign-based handlers. Through extensive CCTV footage analysis, AGTF and SAS Nagar police reconstructed the pre and post-offence movements of the accused, identified vehicles used, and traced the escape route up to Panipat Toll Plaza, he said.
The DIG said that following the trail of digital footprints of accused persons who travelled to Mumbai, Bangalore, Siliguri, Sikkim, Gangtok and Kolkata, were arrested from Howrah in West Bengal by the AGTF team led by DSP Rajan Parminder with the support of STF Kolkata. Both the arrested shooters have a criminal background, he said, while adding that further investigations are ongoing.
In this regard, a case FIR No. 312 dated 16/12/2025 had been registered under sections 103(1), 109, 3(5) and 61(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and section 25 of the Arms Act at Police Station Sohana in SAS Nagar.
