Chandigarh, March 27 -- In a major breakthrough in the Panjab University firing case, the Punjab Police's Anti-Gangster Task Force (AGTF), in a joint operation with Chandigarh District Crime Cell and Fatehgarh Sahib Police, on Thursday apprehended the main accused behind the attack on a student leader. The accused was arrested after a brief exchange of fire on the Amloh-Patran road in Fatehgarh Sahib. Identified as Jaspreet Singh, alias Jas, also known as Jass Panaich, he is a resident of Kheri Noudh Singh village in Fatehgarh Sahibdistrict. Police recovered a .32-bore country-made pistol, two live cartridges, four empty shells and a Hyundai Creta car from Singh. He is alleged to be the main shooter in the campus firing incident, targeting Students' Organisation of Panjab University (SOPU) student leader Jashanpreet Singh Jawanda. On March 17, four attackers arrived on a stolen Honda Activa scooter, reportedly fired two rounds in a planned attempt to target Jawanda. The shooting had raised serious concerns over campus safety and the presence of gang-linked elements in student politics. Hours after the firing, a social media post, purportedly by the Davinder Bambhia gang, claimed responsibility for the attack. The post alleged that Jawanda was targeted by individuals identified as Shaganpreet and Doni Bal, and warned that anyone associating with the Lawrence Bishnoi-linked SOPU faction would face similar consequences. The firing marked the first such case on the Panjab University campus in nearly a decade, with the last reported incident dating back to 2016 when two groups of students clashed at Panjab University, leaving a student injured. According to Punjab director general of police (DGP) Gaurav Yadav, Jaspreet is a key member of the Doni Bal/Bambiha gang. "Preliminary investigations suggest that the attack was carried out at the behest of the gang. Further investigations are underway to establish backward and forward linkages in the case," the DGP said. Sharing operational details, AGTF ADGP Promod Ban said police teams had been tracking the accused across multiple locations, including Chandigarh, Fatehgarh Sahib and Amloh, since the day of the incident. Acting on specific inputs, the accused was traced near Nurpur village under Amloh police station in Fatehgarh Sahib district. "When police teams attempted to intercept him on the Amloh-Patran road, the accused opened fire at the police party. In retaliatory firing, he sustained injuries and was immediately shifted to a nearby hospital for treatment," Ban said. The operation was carried out by a coordinated team comprising officials from Punjab AGTF, Chandigarh Police and local police units. Key officers involved included inspector Vikramjeet Singh, sub-inspector Amandeep Singh, assistant sub-inspector Harbhajan Singh and assistant sub-inspector Pardeep Singh, who had been working on leads since the university firing incident. Police officials said further investigations were ongoing to identify other accused involved in the conspiracy and to uncover the broader network behind the attack...