Bilaspur axe attack: Two suspects hiding in dense forests of Kullu arrested

Shimla, July 9 (PTI): Two men believed to be the prime suspects in carrying out an axe attack on near the Mandi-Bharari bridge on the Kiratpur-Nerchowk four-lane highway in Bilaspur, Himachal Pradesh, have been arrested, police said on Thursda.

Bilaspur axe attack: Two suspects hiding in dense forests of Kullu arrested

Shimla, July 9 (PTI): Two men believed to be the prime suspects in carrying out an axe attack on near the Mandi-Bharari bridge on the Kiratpur-Nerchowk four-lane highway in Bilaspur, Himachal Pradesh, have been arrested, police said on Thursday.

The duo were arrested from dense forests in Kullu district where they were hiding to evade police and CCTVs, they said, adding that the suspects were caught within 28 hours of the attack on Wednesday.

Sunny Gill (34) from Ludhiana, Punjab was critically injured in the axe attack. He is accused of shooting a young man near the Bilaspur city court complex in 2024.

BJP MLA from Bilaspur (Sadar) Trilok Jamwal alleged that the life-threatening attack was linked to "gang wars and mafia activities".

A purported video of the incident showed that Gill was targeted by the assailants following an altercation, even as two persons in police uniform were present.

Police said several special police teams were constituted for the case. Investigation suggested that the accused executed a pre-planned strategy to evade police after the incident, a statement issued by the police here said on Thursday.

Prime suspects, Saurabh Patial (alias Phandi) and Kulbhushan Thakur (alias Lucky), switched eight different vehicles and travelled through link roads to bypass CCTV cameras and police checkpoints and had hidden in the dense forests of Barthin and Banjar in Kullu district, from where they were arrested, it said.

The accused switched off their mobile phones to avoid technical surveillance. Leveraging hundreds of CCTV footage clips, digital evidence, technical analysis, and a robust intelligence network, Bilaspur Police conducted continuous operations and arrested the accused.

Police said the investigation further revealed that other individuals played an active role in the conspiracy, providing vehicles and other logistical support to the accused and Dheeraj Dharmani, Surya Chandel, and Anil Kumar have also been arrested in connection with this case.

The prime accused are being brought to Bilaspur. Police added that they are thoroughly examining all facts and identifying other individuals linked to this case. PTI BPL SKY SKY

(This story is published as part of the auto-generated syndicate wire feed. No editing has been done in the headline or the body by ABP Live.)