Bathinda police early Tuesday morning apprehended five alleged drug addicts from an abandoned, incomplete shopping mall near the railway station after a brief exchange of fire. One of the accused sustained a bullet injury during the incident.According to the police, the accused were involved in looting passengers coming from the railway station.Those apprehended included two brothers, Neeraj alias Kala and Ghota, who are facing seven cases each, said Narinder Singh, SP (City), Bathinda.Giving details, the SP said, “Acting on specific information, a police team led by Inspector Parvinder Singh conducted a raid at the building. During the operation, Neeraj opened fire at the police using a country-made pistol. The police initially fired in the air in response. When the accused attempted to fire again, the police returned fire, which hit Neeraj in the leg. Five persons, including Neeraj, have been arrested.”Those arrested include Neeraj, Ghota, Vikramjit, Karan and Rahul. Vikramjit too has two previous cases registered against him, police said.A case has been registered under various sections of the NDPS Act and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) at Kotwali police station.Meanwhile, over the past two days, videos showing individuals exchanging suspicious substances and injecting drugs had gone viral on social media. Bathinda MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal had also shared one such video on Facebook.Police claimed that those arrested today were not the individuals seen in the viral videos. They added that seven persons had been rounded up on Monday as a preventive measure.
