CHANDIGARH/KAITHAL — In a swift and high-stakes operation, the Punjab Anti-Gangster Task Force (AGTF) on Thursday apprehended two primary suspects involved in the brutal daylight murder of Chandigarh property dealer Chamanpreet Nagra, alias Chini, following a fierce encounter in Kaithal, Haryana. The arrested individuals have been identified as Rajan, alias Piyush Pahalwan from Ferozepur, and Pritam Shah from Nawanshahr; police recovered both a motorcycle and sophisticated weaponry from their possession during the raid. The development comes just 24 hours after Nagra was pumped with 12 bullets as he exited a gym in the upscale Sector 9 area of Chandigarh, an attack for which notorious gangster Lucky Patial has officially claimed responsibility through social media. While the police focus on the shooters, Nagra’s family has raised startling allegations involving a broader conspiracy, with his cousin Major revealing suspicions about two mysterious women who were reportedly seen conducting a recce of the gym. Major noted that witnesses spotted a vehicle carrying approximately eight individuals near the scene during the firing, suggesting a well-coordinated hit rather than a random act of violence.
The investigation has taken a poignant turn following disclosures from Nagra’s close friend, Balkar Singh, who stated that the victim had intentionally moved his workout routine to Sector 9 because he believed the high-profile, VIP-heavy area would offer safety from the persistent death threats he had been receiving. Singh criticized the administration for repeatedly denying their applications for arms licenses despite these documented threats, lamenting that Nagra’s faith in the “safe zone” of Chandigarh proved fatal. In response to the escalating violence—following both this murder and a separate firing incident at Punjab University—Chandigarh Administrator Gulab Chand Kataria summoned senior police officials to the Governor House for an emergency security review. As the AGTF works to establish the forward and backward linkages of the hitmen to the Lucky Patial gang, the local community remains on edge, and the names of the suspected female accomplices are being handed over to the police to determine if an “inside” source at the gym facilitated the killers’ timing.
