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Punjab Police Arrest Two Suspects in Makhu Shopkeeper Killing

The arrests follow a targeted cross‑state operation and shift the investigation toward identifying planners, financiers, facilitators behind the attack.

Overview

  • Police arrested Vishnu Kumar and Rahul Mahawar on Sunday in Jammu and Kashmir after tracing them from raids in Rajasthan during a special AGTF operation called 'Hill Trap'.
  • Authorities recovered a .30‑bore Beretta pistol and 10 live cartridges when the two were intercepted at a checkpoint on the Patnitop‑Kud Road and allegedly tried to flee.
  • The victim, Gurcharan Singh Gaba, was shot by two motorcycle‑borne assailants on June 1 at his shop in Makhu and later died, prompting an FIR under sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Arms Act.
  • Preliminary checks show Vishnu has an extensive criminal record including extortion and Arms Act violations and carried a Rs 10,000 reward declared by Rajasthan Police, while investigators continue forensic and inter‑state inquiries.
  • Officials say the arrests highlight how human intelligence, coordinated checkpoints and joint policing across Punjab, Rajasthan and J&K can counter cross‑state criminal mobility and they warn the probe will now target any wider conspiracy and those who enabled the attack.