Faridkot: Four days after a rice mill owner was shot dead in broad daylight in Jaitu town in the district, accused Harsimrandeep Singh Simma has confessed to his crime in a Facebook post, but refuted the police theory that the victim was killed after he refused to pay extortion money.

Faridkot: Four days after a rice mill owner was shot dead in broad daylight in Jaitu town in the district, accused Harsimrandeep Singh Simma has confessed to his crime in a Facebook post, but refuted the police theory that the victim was killed after he refused to pay extortion money.

In his Facebook post. Simma claimed that Ravinder Kochhar was shot dead as he was a police “tout” and informed the cops about the activities of members of his gang.

He said Kochhar had a dispute with his associate Kamaljeet Singh alias Bunty Dhillon. Kamaljeet was one of three gangsters of Punjab who committed suicide in a village in Haryana in June after being cornered by the police. The two others were Jaspreet Singh alias Jumpy Don and Nishan Singh of Ferozepur.

Simma confessed that he and one of his accomplices had shot dead Kochhar, but the police are “unnecessarily targeting” their friends and family members.

Meanwhile, Jaitu station house officer (SHO) Sunil Sharma said it is yet to be confirmed whether Simma himself wrote the post on Facebook.

He said police teams are conducting raids at all possible hideouts of the accused.

Police have so far failed to identify the other accused involved in the killing.

According to the police, Simma along with his accomplice came in a Swift car and fire bullets at Kochhar. The accused fled the spot immediately after the crime, leaving the victim dead on his driving seat.

Meanwhile, Youth Akali Dal leader Parambans Bunty Romana has submitted a memorandum to Faridkot senior superintendent of police (SSP) Nanak Singh and urged him to ensure law and order in district as residents are living under terror due to the activities of gangsters. He also blamed Congress leaders of sheltering miscreants.