Ludhiana: A Haibowal resident was shot dead in Sham Nagar at around 11.30pm on Sunday. The man was shot in the chest at point-blank range and died on the spot. Prima facie investigation connects the murder to the Jawahar Nagar firing incident. The man who fired the gunshot in Sham Nagar is the nephew of Kanwaljit Kumar, a hotelier from Jawahar Nagar, at whose house three men fired a gunshot in the early hours of July 15.The deceased has been identified as Rohit Kumar, 24, of New Vijay Nagar in Haibowal area. Based on the statements of Rohit’s father, Naresh Kumar, division number 5 police lodged an FIR against Manav of Jawahar Nagar and his unidentified accomplice on charges of murder.Naresh Kumar said that his son left the house on Sunday night, saying that he was going for some work with his friends. Later, they received information that Jawahar Nagar resident, Manav, and his aide shot him dead in Sham Nagar. Police lodged an FIR under Sections 103 (murder) of BNS and relevant sections of the Arms Act.According to a police source, Manav contacted the police on Sunday night, claiming that three men wanted to shoot him and he fired at one of them in self-defence, resulting in one person’s death.An official told TOI, “Initially, Manav, nephew of Jawahar Nagar-based hotelier Kanwaljit Kumar, informed the police that he went to a fuel station near Sham Nagar on a scooter with his friend. After getting fuel, they were returning to Jawahar Nagar when they were intercepted by three men on a scooter. Manav claimed that one of them had a pistol and wanted to kill him. However, he pre-empted the attack and shot in self defence, leading to the man’s death. Manav said that the attack was connected with the previous attack at their house one year ago, during which his father, Jindi, was murdered. He added that his uncle (father’s brother), Kanwaljit, was to testify against the killer, Darpan, in court on July 23. Manav alleged that the assailants wanted to attack him to threaten the family and stop them from giving the testimony.“However, when police scanned CCTV cameras installed in the locality overnight, the story changed. It was found that the three men, including the deceased, Rohit, had a gun, and Manav also had a pistol. Rohit and his accomplices initially intercepted Manav, who escaped. Rohit and his two aides parked their scooter near a car and hid behind it, waiting for Manav to pass by. CCTV cameras captured Manav stopping his scooter a few steps away and walking up to the car with a pistol in hand. As soon as Manav came near the car, Rohit jumped before him with a gun but Manav shot him in the chest at point blank range before he could do anything. Thereafter, he fled,” said the official.As Rohit fell, he tried to point the gun at Manav, who was fleeing, but collapsed before he could shoot. His aides did not raise an alarm but rushed him to the civil hospital, where he was declared dead. A police official said that they were trying to ascertain the connection between the Sham Nagar and Jawahar Nagar firing incidents as well as Jindi’s testimony in the murder case.Box: Manav returned 10 minutes later to pick up the bullet shell from the spot.CCTV cameras showed that Rohit was shot dead at 11.23pm. At 11.43pm, Manav, along with a group of men, returned to the spot in an SUV to search for the bullet shell. They spent a few minutes at the spot, picked up the bullet shell, and escaped. Connection with previous case: Accused, Manav, is nephew of hotelier Kanwaljit Kumar, whose house was targeted in a firing incident on July 15 Background & MotiveManav claimed self-defence, alleging that Rohit and two others tried to kill him He linked the attack to the murder of his father, Jindi, a year ago.Claimed that the attackers wanted to intimidate his family before Kanwaljit’s court testimony on July 23.CCTV RevelationsFootage showed Rohit and his aides lying in wait behind a carManav approached with a pistol and shot Rohit first Rohit tried to retaliate but collapsed Contradicts self-defence claim AftermathManav returned 10 minutes later with others in an SUV to retrieve the bullet shell Police are investigating links between Sham Nagar shooting, Jawahar Nagar firing and Jindi’s murder caseMSID:: 122816002 413 |
