Amidst the ongoing campaign to make Punjab safe and secure as per the vision of Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann, SAS Nagar Police cracked the blind murder case of Budding Singer Navdeep Singh Virk, popularly known as Issapuria (22) with the arrest of one accused person, said Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) SAS Nagar Dr Sandeep Kumar Garg.

The arrested accused has been identified as Abhishek alias Rajat Rana (25), a resident of Umarpur village of Shamli District in Uttar Pradesh. Another accused identified as Saurav of Sultanpur Barwala, who was involved in this murder has already died, purportedly of drug overdose. The weapon— 9 MM Pistol— used to commit the murder was already recovered by the Raipur Rani Police of Haryana.

Divulging the details, SSP Dr Sandeep Kumar Garg said that this is a case of May 2018, when Abhishek along with his accomplice Saurav, who targetted the victim Navdeep Virk to snatch his Micra car, had shot him dead following heated arguments. The body of the budding singer was recovered by his family members from a vacant plot of Usha Yarn Factory after spotting his Nissan Micra Car at Barwala road near Expo Forging, he added.

An FIR No. 144 dated 28.05.2018 had been registered under sections 302 and 34 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and section 25 of the Arms Act at Police Station Dera Bassi.

The SSP said that following the incident, a Special Investigation Team (SIT) led by SP Investigation Amandeep Singh Brar has been formed to investigate the case professionally and scientifically. The SIT comprised DSP Investigation Gursher Singh and CIA Incharge Mohali Shiv Kumar as its members.

The investigation has revealed that the accused persons were working for the UP-based Rahul Khatta gang, and the motive behind the murder was to snatch the Car from the slain singer allegedly to commit another crime, he said.

Meanwhile, the arrested accused Abhishek has a criminal record and he has been facing at least seven criminal cases pertaining to Murder, Attempt to Murder, Dacoity, etc.