Gurdeep Pehalwan murder case: Jaggu Bhagwanpuria among fie acquitted, three get life term
The court observed that the prosecution failed to prove the charges against them beyond reasonable doubt.
PTC News Desk: Eight years after the high-profile murder of Congress councillor Gurdeep Pehalwan in Amritsar, the court acquitted gangster Jaggu Bhagwanpuria and four others while convicted three others.
Apart from Bhagwanpuria, the other gangsters acquitted were Bobby Malhotra, Bhupinder Singh alias Sonu Kangla, Kartik alias Ghora, and Varinder Singh alias Sunny.
The court observed that the prosecution failed to prove the charges against them beyond reasonable doubt.
However, Arun Kumar alias Chhuri Maar, Angrej Singh, and Amanpreet Singh alias Rinka were convicted under Sections 120-B (criminal conspiracy), 148 (rioting while armed with deadly weapons), 302 (murder), 473 (forgery-related offences), and 201 (destruction of evidence) of the IPC. All three were sentenced to life imprisonment and fined Rs 22,000 each. If they fail to pay the fine, they will have to serve an additional six months in jail.
Two accused in the case — Ravneet Singh alias Sonu Mota and Rajat Malhotra alias Karan Masti — died during the trial. Sonu Mota was shot dead in April 2025 by Gurdeep’s son, Abhiraj Singh alias Abhi, who allegedly wanted to avenge his father’s murder.
The victim’s family expressed disappointment over the verdict. Sukhbir Singh alias Sonu Pehalwan, brother of the slain councillor, said that the main accused, who allegedly had a long-standing rivalry with Gurdeep and had repeatedly threatened him, had been acquitted. He added that the family would decide its next legal step after studying the full judgment. At present, Gurdeep’s mother, Gurmeet Kaur, is the councillor from the area.
Amandeep Singh, counsel for Jaggu Bhagwanpuria, said the prosecution failed to present evidence against Bhagwanpuria and the other four acquitted accused, which led the court to clear them of all charges.
Gurdeep Pehalwan was shot dead on June 2, 2018, at Gol Bagh Akhara on Railway Road in Amritsar, a place he frequently visited. According to eyewitnesses, three armed men opened fire while several others stood nearby. A few days later, a social media post surfaced claiming the murder was revenge for the killing of gangster Sangam Malhotra, an associate of Jaggu Bhagwanpuria who was murdered in November 2014. The post alleged that Gurdeep was responsible for Sangam’s killing and named Karan Masti, Arun Chhuri Maar, Rinka, and Angrej as the attackers. Gurdeep had reportedly received threats from Bhagwanpuria as early as 2015.