Bathinda: An incomplete shopping mall near Bathinda railway station turned out to be the venue of a shootout between police and five men in the early hours of Tuesday. One of the accused sustained a bullet injury in his leg, while the police succeeded in arresting remaining four without a drop of blood being shed.There were a number of complaints about anti-social elements involved in snatchings from passengers coming out of, or going to, the railway station at odd hours. The anti-social elements made the abandoned multi-storey building their shelter after committing crimes, and even used it to take drugs.
Bathinda superintendent of police (city) Narinder Singh said that the police received a tip about some anti-social elements operating from the abandoned mall. Acting on it, when a police team reached the spot, some persons fired at the police, and the police retaliated. A bullet hit Neeraj alias Kala in the leg. Those arrested were identified as Neeraj’s brother Ghota, Karan, Rahul, and Vikramjit.Both Neeraj and Ghota face seven cases each, while Karan and Vikramjit face two cases each. A case under charges of dacoity, the Arms Act, and the NDPS Act was filed against the accused, he said.
