Punjab ADGP's son joins probe
Chandigarh, Aug. 6 -- Punjab additional director general of police (ADGP) Paramraj Singh Umranangal's son Angad Sukhraj Singh Dhaliwal, who was the prime suspect in the Sector 10 Willow Cafe firing case, joined investigations on Monday, five months after theincident.
The Chandigarh Police have recovered the weapon, allegedly used in the firing, from one of his co-accused, who is a Punjab Police personnel.
The investigation so far has revealed that Angad fired the shot using a weapon belonging to one of the Punjab cops accompanying him. These security men were deployed at the official residence of his father. The firing incident was captured on the cafe's CCTV footage, clearly showing Angad drawing the weapon and firing into the air. However, during the probe, Angad did not disclose any definitive reason for the firing, and no clear motive has emerged so far.
Angad, 33, a US citizen currently residing in Dubai, had filed for anticipatory bail in the case registered at the Sector-3 police station on February 17. He was booked under Sections 125 (acts endangering human life or safety), 126 (wrongful restraint), 238C (disappearance of evidence), 249C (harbouring offender), and 61(2) (criminal conspiracy) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023, and Sections 25, 27, 54, 59 of the Arms Act.
The case was based on a complaint filed by Balbir Ram, a staff member at Willow Cafe, who alleged that on the evening of February 16, Angad, accompanied by friends and a security guard, fired a shot into the air while seated on the cafe's terrace. CCTV footage reviewed the next day showed Angad, dressed in a black hoodie with white stars, pulling out a pistol and firing a round. The footage was later handed over to the police.
During the bail proceedings, Angad's counsel claimed that the firearm was a dummy weapon carried for his personal security, and that no one was harmed in the incident. He argued that Angad had not received any notice to join the investigation during his visit and left India on February 22.
Despite strong opposition from the prosecution, which labelled the charges as serious, the court granted him interim anticipatory bail. Additional sessions judge Dr Harpreet Kaur noted that no recovery was pending from the accused as the weapon had already been seized from a co-accused.
The court directed Angad to join the investigation within 10 days, surrender his passport, not influence witnesses, and refrain from leaving the country without prior permission. The matter is scheduled for further hearing on August 11....
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