NIA files chargesheet in Brig Gagneja murder case

Mohali: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Friday filed a chargesheet in the murder case of Punjab unit RSS vice-president Brigadier Jagdish Gagneja (retired). It has charged all the five accused with murder, conspiracy and under Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and the Arms Act.

NIA had taken 60-day extension on October 4 to file chargesheet, citing international ramifications of the case, but did so within 40 days.

The procedure to shift the case to Patiala House court in Delhi will begin after the next hearing on November 21.

In October this year, the NIA court had supplied a copy of the chargesheet in RSS leader Ravinder Gosain murder case after framing charges against the five accused, who are also accused in Gagneja murder case, in Tihar Jail, where they are lodged, through their counsel. The charged accused include Hardeep Singh alias Shera, Ramandeep Singh alias Canadian alias Bagga, Dharminder Singh alias Guggni, Anil Kumar alias Kala, and Jagtar Singh Johal alias Jaggi Johal. The other three accused — Harmeet Singh alias Happy (suspected to be in Pakistan), Gurjinder Singh alias Shastri (suspected to be in Italy) and Gursharanbir Singh alias Pehalwan (suspected to be in UK) — are yet to be arrested.

According to the chargesheet, Gagneja’s murder was part of a trans-national conspiracy hatched by senior KLF leadership under targeted killings. He was shot at in Jalandhar on August 6, 2016 and operated upon in a local hospital. He was shifted next day to DMC Hospital in Ludhiana, where he died on September 22 even as the state government handed over the case to CBI.

The chargesheet is based on evidence collected from oral, documentary, material and electronic sources, said a NIA official. More evidence is being collected from several other countries, he said.

On December 6, 2017, NIA had arrested Guggni, Bagga and Shera after a brief shootout in Meerut. The agency claimed that eight incidents of targeted killings or attempts to kill were executed in Punjab between January 2016 and October 2017 as part of this plan and all the victims belonged to certain communities and organisations. It said Guggni’s role as main conspirator and weapon supplier in executing the killings in Punjab has been ascertained.

Investigations revealed a conspiracy spanning several countries, including Pakistan, the UK, Australia, France, Italy and UAE. Substantial amount of funds were supplied via Italy, Australia and UK to the perpetrators for purchase of weapons and other logistics. Johal was involved in the funding of the conspiracy. The plan included recruitment and training of Bagga and Shera in Italy, Dubai and UAE. According to NIA, while Shera is a permanent resident of Italy, Bagga belongs to Ludhiana. They were trained by Gursharanbir Singh, a UK national.

According to police, Guggni’s name came up during the interrogation of Bagga - accused of killing various high-profile leaders in Punjab. He is also the prime shooter in advocate Amarpeet Singh Sethi murder case, in which he has got a life sentence along with eight others.