Punjabi singer, aide shot at

Pavneet Singh Chadha

Tribune News Service

Mohali, April 14

Punjabi singer Parmish Verma and his friend Kulwant Singh Chahal were shot at by unidentified assailants here late on Friday night.

The police said Verma, along with his friend and two bodyguards, left for his flat in Sector 91 in a black Toyota Fortuner after performing at a club in Chandigarh around 11.45 pm. He dropped his bodyguards in Sector 70.

Around five unidentified men in a Hyundai Creta followed them from Chandigarh before intercepting them at a T-point on the Chappar Chiri road in Sector 74 at 12.30 am.

According to the police, one person got down and opened fire at the singer’s moving SUV. One bullet hit Verma, who was behind the wheel, below the knee and another Kulwant, who was seated beside him, on the leg, before the duo drove away from the spot.

Verma informed the SSP, who reached the spot in 12-15 minutes. The victims were then taken to Fortis Hospital. Sources said the singer and his friend were stable.

Mohali SSP Kuldeep Singh Chahal said they had recovered six empty shells, including one of .315 bore, from the spot. Some gangsters are suspected to be behind the attack. SSP Chahal said they had specific inputs about involvement of gangsters Sampat Nehra gang and Dilpreet Singh Dhahan. “We are following some leads to trace the accused,” he said.

Sampat Nehra, a member of Lawrence Bishnoi gang, is involved in several extortion and carjacking cases. In June 2017, he had freed an undertrial from a government hospital.

Dhahan, a local gangster, is accused of shooting a sarpanch in broad daylight in Chandigarh last year. He has even claimed to have attacked the singer in a Facebook post.

Dhahan’s FB status shows a picture of him holding a gun alongside Verma’s picture with a cross drawn across it. The CIA staff of the Mohali police cordoned off Phase IV and Phase V on Saturday afternoon and conducted a search operation.

The investigating officer, SI Sumit Mor, said a case had been registered against unidentified persons under Sections 307 (attempt to murder), 148 (rioting), 149 IPC and Sections 25 and 27 of the Arms Act.