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Akash Ghai
Tribune News Service
Mohali, July 16
“Kin of Samuel Masih, alias Sunny Masih, were well aware of his criminal
activities. A police team from Himachal Pradesh had conducted a raid on his house at Dhedhowal village last week,” said Mohali
SSP Kuldeep Singh Chahal on Monday.
The SSP said it was not the first such raid. “As Sunny was a proclaimed offender, several such raids were also conducted earlier by the HP police,” said SSP Chahal, adding that a case under Sections 379 and 411 of the IPC and Sections 25, 54 and 59 of the Arms Act was registered against him at the Nagreta
police station in Kangra in 2014. Sunny was gunned down by the Mohali police in an encounter at Naina Devi during the wee hours of July 14. Since then, members of his family have been terming it a “fake” encounter. They said Sunny was innocent and the Mohali police had killed him to get rewards.
“How is it possible that the court has declared Sunny a PO and the family was not aware of his criminal activities,” said Chahal.
Sunny’s father Sucha Masih and his uncle Younis Masih have already demanded a CBI probe into the encounter. The family had claimed that Sunny had left the house for his new job at the Delhi toll plaza.
The SSP said the Mohali police were not intending to open fire at the criminals. “They did it in self-defence. Over 10 gunshots were exchanged between the criminals and the police. As many as seven shots were fired by the criminals while the police fired only three shots,” said Chahal.
The police had recovered two .30 bore Chinese mousers from the trio at Naina Devi.
“These types of firearms, which are highly sophisticated, were used by extremists during terrorism days — mainly between 1989 and 1995 — in Punjab. We will investigate from where they got these weapons,” said Harbir Singh Atwal, SP (Detective), Mohali.
At present, Sunny’s two accomplices — Amarpreet Singh and Goldy Masih — are in the custody of the Bilaspur police.
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