An arms supplier who was wanted in the high-profile murder of the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP)’s Nangal unit president in Punjab was arrested by Delhi Police Special Cell in a joint operation with the National Investigation Agency (NIA), the police said on Monday.
Weapons used in the assassination of VHP leader Vikas Prabhakar alias Vikas Bagga were procured by the accused, Dharminder Kumar alias Kunal, 22, a resident of Ludhiana in Punjab, from Madhya Pradesh, the police said.
Bagga was shot dead by two unidentified scooter-borne men on April 13 at his confectionery shop in Nangal, Punjab. The case was initially registered at the Nangal police station. The police had subsequently arrested two persons who were said to be part of a terror module backed by Pakistan-based terrorists. The case was transferred to the NIA in May.
Based on specific inputs, the Special Cell team tracked Kumar in Ludhiana and shared the input with the NIA. Accordingly, a joint team apprehended him, said an officer.
Upon interrogation, Kumar confessed to his involvement in the crime.
“The accused has previously been involved in the supply of illegal arms from Madhya Pradesh and has two cases under the Arms Act registered against him, one each in Madhya Pradesh and Punjab,” said an officer.
“Kumar revealed that in April, after being released from jail, he came into contact with a person based in the Middle East through social media, who instructed him to arrange weapons,” the officer added.
He then procured the weapons from Madhya Pradesh and supplied them to the assailants, the officer also said.