Hoshiarpur: Gangster Bhuvnesh Chopra, known as Ashish Chopra, has died in custody at Hoshiarpur Central Jail after being found unconscious in his cell on Tuesday morning. Jail staff gave him first aid and took him to the local civil hospital at about 8 am, where doctors declared him dead on arrival.

Source: Mirror Now

Senior Medical Officer Navjot Singh said the body has been kept in the hospital mortuary and a post-mortem will be conducted by a board of doctors in the presence of a judicial officer, in line with the protocol for custodial deaths, to establish the exact cause of death. Officials have launched a formal investigation into the circumstances of the death.

Chopra, a resident of Balochan Wali Basti in Ferozepur, had been lodged at Hoshiarpur jail since October 23 after being transferred from Sangrur jail over security concerns. Police records link him to 16 cases across Ferozepur, Fazilka and Patiala districts.

Accused in the 2024 Ferozepur triple murder

Police identify Chopra as the primary conspirator in the September 2024 Ferozepur triple murder, in which a young woman and two other people were shot dead. He fled the country after the incident and was arrested on March 12 this year after being deported to India. At the time of his arrest, Punjab DGP Gaurav Yadav had alleged that Chopra acted as a facilitator in cross-border narcotics trafficking — that remains an allegation, not a proven charge.

According to a News89 report, his family has questioned his frequent transfers between jails in the days before his death and demanded that the post-mortem be conducted at PGI Chandigarh under judicial supervision. The family's claims are allegations at this stage; the official post-mortem report is awaited.