NEW DELHI: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Tuesday declared a cash reward of Rs 10 lakh each against two wanted accused in connection with the murder of Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) leader Vikas Prabhakar in Punjab. Harjit Singh alias Laddi, son of Kuldip Singh, a resident of Garpadhana village in Punjab’s Nawanshahr, and Kulbeer Singh alias Sidhu, son of Sukhvinder Singh, a resident of Yamuna Nagar, Police Station Sadar Jagadhari, Haryana, are absconders in the murder case registered on May 9 this year, the NIA said in a statement. He was shot dead by two unidentified motorcycle-borne men at his shop in Nangal town in Punjab’s Rupnagar district on April 13, 2024. The two assailants entered Bagga’s confectionery shop located near the Rupnagar railway station and opened fire at him and then fled from the scene. . The NIA said that the identities of the informants will be kept a secret in their interest. The agency also shared photos of the duo. Earlier, on April 16, the Rupnagar Police, in a joint operation with the state special operating cell (SSOC) in Mohali, arrested two Pakistani-backed operatives in connection with this high-profile murder case. With this, the Punjab police claimed to have solved the murder case within three days. “In a major breakthrough, Rupnagar Police, in a joint operation with SSOC #Mohali, has solved the Vikas Prabhakar Murder Case in less than three days with the arrest of 2 operatives of a terror module backed by #Pakistan-based terrorist masterminds,” the Punjab Police posted on social media platform X. The two were arrested on April 16 with two weapons- 32 bore pistols, 16 live cartridges, one empty used cartridge, and a TVS Jupiter scooty used in the crime. From the preliminary investigations, it has been revealed that this is a terror module, operated and funded by Foreign-based handlers operating from Portugal and other places, the police added.
