Sector 23 murder: Accused Gagandeep was readying fake passport to flee country, say Chandigarh Police

Police have lodged an FIR against notorious criminal Gagandeep, who was recently arrested for a youth’s murder in Sector 23, and his associate Manpreet Singh for allegedly conspiring to make a fake passport to flee the country.

On January 24, Gagandeep was arrested from a flat in Badmajra, Mohali, where he had been hiding, following a joint operation by Chandigarh and Mohali police.

He is an active member of the Lawrence Bishnoi gang and was wanted for various crimes in Chandigarh, Haryana and Punjab. Following his arrest, he had reportedly admitted to murdering 28-year-old Kaashish Gahalawat in Sector 23. After murdering, he hid the body under the bed to mislead the police.

As per police, Gagandeep, alias Gagan Bouncer, had been working on fleeing the country using forged documents.

The Crime Branch revealed that during investigation, a passport appointment receipt and a forged Aadhaar card were recovered. Facing multiple criminal cases, he had manipulated his address in official records for smooth police verification. The accused was aware that getting a passport on his original address would result in police scrutiny, so he contacted agents from Delhi to alter his Aadhaar details.

He, along with Manpreet, has been booked under Sections 61 (2), 111, 336, 339 and 340 of BNS at the CIA police station.

Roped in Mohali RPG attack accused

During interrogation, Gagandeep admitted to conspiring with his associate Manpreet Singh, a resident of Ludhiana, who is currently in USA, to obtain a fake passport. Manpreet is also one of the accused in May 2022 RPG attack at Punjab Police intelligence headquarters in Mohali.

Manpreet, reportedly well-connected in the criminal underworld, had also arranged for a foreign-made pistol for Gagandeep.

Police have recovered three pistols from Gagandeep: a Glock pistol used to fire at cops during the raid at Badmajra, a .32 pistol and another pistol that he had given to Neeraj, alias Ninja, the owner of an immigration company. Police also revealed that Gagandeep, along with Neeraj, had travelled to Punjab to procure the arms.

Well-oiled passport forgery ring

Police sources disclosed that Manpreet and Neeraj were part of a larger network that specialised in forging credentials for criminals across India, assisting them in obtaining fake passports and illegally smuggling them out of the country. This syndicate is believed to have deep-rooted connections with individuals involved in document forgery, making it easier for fugitives to evade police.

Police are now working to track down other members of the network and locate Manpreet. Authorities are also investigating how the gang managed to alter official documents without detection.