The Ropar police on Thursday claimed to have solved the murder of a man whose body was recovered from the Anandpur Sahib hydel canal near Nangal earlier this week. Three accused allegedly involved in the crime have been arrested. In a separate operation, the police also arrested two alleged criminals from Himachal Pradesh and seized seven illegal pistols and six live cartridges from their possession.Canal murder caseSSP Ropar Maninder Singh said the body of an unidentified man was recovered from the canal near the Patti village, close to Nangal, on July 28. After police failed to establish the victim’s identity, the body was shifted to a hospital.The SSP said the deceased had several distinctive tattoos on his body. Photographs of the tattoos were circulated on social media, leading to the identification of the victim on July 30. The deceased was identified by his wife, Neeru Bala, as Balwinder Pal, a resident of an area under the Nangal police station.Following her statement, the Nangal police registered a case under Sections 103, 238 and 3(5) of the BNS and launched an investigation.The investigation led to the arrest of Amitoj alias Toji and Amarjit alias Judge, both residents of Nangal, and Gaurav alias Gori, a resident of Majara in Anandpur Sahib.The SSP said preliminary investigation revealed that the deceased frequently spent time with the accused. Amarjit alias Judge allegedly had repeated altercations with Balwinder Pal while consuming alcohol and had threatened to kill him on several occasions.Police alleged that on July 28, the accused intoxicated Balwinder Pal, murdered him and later dumped his body into the canal in an attempt to destroy evidence by letting it decompose in water.The SSP said the arrested accused had previous criminal records, including cases related to theft and narcotics. They were produced before a local court on Thursday, which remanded them to three days of police custody for further interrogation. Police said they expect further disclosures during the investigation.Arms seizureIn another operation, police arrested two alleged criminals and seized seven illegal pistols and six live cartridges from their possession.The arrested accused were identified as Lakhwinder Singh alias Lakha, a resident of Madanpura village in Solan district of Himachal Pradesh, and Raman alias Khan, a resident of Saini Majra village in Nalagarh area of Himachal Pradesh.The SSP said the arrests were made as part of a special drive against gangsters and habitual offenders.Police said a Ropar police team intercepted the duo near Shiv Mandir on IIT Road in the city during the night of July 27 following a specific tip-off. A case under Sections 25, 54 and 59 of the Arms Act was registered against the accused.The accused have also been remanded to police custody. Investigators are now probing the source of the weapons and the links of the arrested to determine whether the arms were part of a larger interstate supply network, the SSP said.