CABBIE’S ABDUCTION AND MURDER CASE: JAISH-E-MOHAMMAD’s ACTIVIST, HIS TWO ASSOCIATES HELD WITH PISTOL, STOLEN VEHICLE
— ARRESTED ACCUSED SAHIL BASHIR IS A WANTED INDIVIDUAL IN A UAPA AND ARMS ACT CASE REGISTERED IN J&K: DGP PUNJAB GAURAV YADAV
— ARRESTED PERSONS CONFESSED TO HAVE SHOT THE DRIVER AND DISPOSED OF BODY IN MOHALI AREA: DIG HARCHARAN SINGH BHULLAR
— POLICE TEAMS RETRIEVE BODY OF DECEASED ANIL KUMAR FOLLOWING DISCLOSURES OF ARRESTED PERSONS: SSP HARMANDEEP HANS
CHANDIGARH/SAS NAGAR, September 2:
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, SAS Nagar Police has busted a terror module linked to Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) and apprehended three Jammu and Kashmir (J&K)-based persons in connection with abduction and murder case of a cab driver Anil Kumar, said Director General of Police (DGP) Punjab Gaurav Yadav here on Tuesday.
Those arrested have been identified as Sahil Bashir (19), a resident of village Handwara Langate in Kupwara, Munish Singh alias Ansh (22), a resident of village Kotli in Doda and Aijaz Ahmed Khan alias Wasim (22), a resident of village Manjpura in Kalamabad.
Police teams have also recovered the snatched white-coloured Maruti Swift Dzire (PB01-D-6299) and the .32 bore country-made pistol used in the crime, from the possession of arrested accused persons.
In her complaint, Anil Kumar’s wife Sudha Devi has stated that her husband drives a taxi vehicle and on Friday morning, like every day, at around 08:30 AM, he leaves home to take a ride from Kharar to Railway Station, Chandigarh. Later, she kept on calling her husband continuously but both her husband’s mobile phones were switched off, she stated.
DGP Gaurav Yadav said that in connection with the abduction and murder of cab driver Anil Kumar, resident of Nayagaon Mohali, a case was promptly registered after preliminary investigation has revealed that three unidentified persons, who had hired the cab from Kharar, has forcibly snatched his vehicle. Considering the grave and sensitive nature of the matter, multiple police teams were constituted, and acting with speed and precision, all three accused were apprehended, he said.
The DGP said that arrested accused Sahil Bashir is a wanted individual in an Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and Arms Act case registered at Police Station Qalamabad, Handwara in J&K. His brother Sajad Ahmad Shah had earlier been arrested with a cache of weapons and materials linked to JeM, he said, while adding that both are identified as Over Ground Workers (OGWs) of the JeM.
Sharing operation details, Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) Ropar Range Harcharan Singh Bhullar said acting swiftly on the complaint, separate teams of Mohali Police were formed under the supervision of SP City Sirivenella, SP Investigation Saurav Jindal, DSP City-1 Prithvi Singh Chahal. Police teams led by Incharge CIA staff Harminder Singh and SHO Police Station Nayan Gaon Satnam Singh jointly took action and using technical and human resources, the accused were arrested from Bus Stand, Batala and Gurdaspur areas, he said.
The DIG said that during interrogation, the arrested accused persons confessed to having fatally shot the driver after an altercation and later disposed of the body in the Mohali area.
Sharing more details, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) SAS Nagar Harmandeep Hans said that the interrogation of the accused revealed that they had booked the cab on the pretext of going from Kharar to Chandigarh railway station, who had first asked the taxi driver, Anil Kumar, to go to Airport Road via Phase 3B2 Mohali. When Anil Kumar took the accused to village Kandala, they took Anil Kumar down from the vehicle and shot him dead, before escaping with the car and other belongings, he said.
The SSP said that following disclosures of the arrested accused persons, police teams have retrieved mortal remains of deceased Anil Kumar. Three bullet shells were also recovered from near the dead body, he added.
Initially, a case FIR no. 87 dated 31-08-2025 was registered under section 127(6) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) at Police Station Naya Gaon, while, sections 140(3), 103 and 304 of the BNS and section 25 Arms Act have been added in this case.
