However, one gang member managed to give a slip to the police.

SSP (Rural) Gurpreet Singh Bhullar said the arrested persons have been identified as Amit Kamboj alias Amar alias Jaideep of Karnal, Bawinder Singh alias Billa of Tarn Taran district, Joga of Amritsar, Harmail Singh of Hoshiarpur. Kulwinder Singh of Jalandhar fled from the spot.

SSP Bhullar said the gang had been arrested by a police party led by Inspector Kanwarpal Singh, in charge, Crime Investigation Agency (CIA).

The police have seized one 7.65 bore pistol along with three live cartridges, two countrymade pistols of 315 bore along with eight live cartridges, one base ball bat and 270 gms of gold.

He said Amit Kamboj is a dreaded criminal, who became the gang leader after the arrest of Dharminder Singh alias Bhupinder Singh. Initially Amit Kamboj had formed his own gang comprising his gang members but in 2004, while serving his sentence in the Karnal jail, he met Sonu Malpuria who gave him the telephone number of Sonu Bajuha.

After three years in jail, he came out on a parole for a month but did not go back.

Bajuha had reportedly introduced Amit to Dharminder Singh. Bhullar said the gang used to take contracts to eliminate or injure their targets. They have looted petrol pumps, liquor vends and travellers at a gunpoint.

During his interrogation, Amit also disclosed that in 2001 he went to Siliguri along with his parents and stayed there for five days. He again went to Siliguri and got employment as a third officer in the Anglo Eastern Shipping Company.

While serving a sentence in the Patiala jail under the Arms Act, he met Amarjit Singh alias Sweety of Jalandhar, who offered him Rs 1 crore as ransom for the murder of one Palwinder Singh, his father and sister.

For this, Amit had received Rs 5 lakh in advance. On January 4 this year, Amit along with Billa and Rubby went to Ajnoha village in Hoshiarpur to kill Palwinder.