Following brawl on Chandigarh''s Sec 17/22 dividing road, youth opens fire

Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, November 15

Two groups of youths entered into a brawl during which one of the youths fired a gunshot on the road separating Sector 17 and 22 on the intervening night of November 14 and 15.

Sources said Pankaj, a resident of Sector 22, reported that he was standing in the parking of the Sector 22 market opposite the ISBT, Sector 17, when he saw three vehicles — a Swift, an i20 and a Ford — all bearing Punjab registration numbers, going towards the Sector 16/17/22/23 cricket stadium roundabout. The vehicles stopped on the road after which the youths entered into an argument.

One of the eyewitnesses recorded the incident on his mobile phone. The video shows a youth opening fire. However, nobody was hurt.

The police were informed about the incident, who visited the spot. However, the youths had escaped by then.

Police sources said during investigation, it was found that the one of the cars had hit another car following which both groups stopped in Sector 22 and entered into an argument. “A minor scuffle was reported after which one of the persons fired a gunshot,” said a police official.

The police said before leaving, both groups struck a compromise and no complaint was lodged with the police.

The occupants of two of the three vehicles were called. Through verification and questioning, it came to light that six students went to a club, Chandiland, in Sector 7 for a birthday party. After having snacks and drinks, they left the club at 1 am and were going to the ISBT, Sector 17, for dinner.

When they were reversing the car, their vehicle hit an Uber cab parked there. The driver of the Uber cab followed them and stopped them in Sector 22. In the meantime, three passengers, who were sitting in the Uber cab, came out of the cab and started using foul language. One of the passengers, who was carrying a weapon, fired a shot. Later, all of them sped away from the spot.

Vaneet Gautam, Ranbir, Anirudh, Gurkirat Singh and Harmanpreet Singh have been booked under preventive measures. A case has been registered at the Sector 17 police station. Their two cars were impounded by the police. During verification, it came to light that the number of the third car was not noted down correctly. The police said after getting the complete details of the Uber cab and their occupants, action would be initiated against them.

Cigarette vendor’s murder still unsolved

During the wee hours of June 5, 2017, two youths riding a motorcycle came to purchase cigarettes from a cigarette vendor, Mohammad Nazid, in Sector 22. The duo entered into an altercation with the vendor after which he was shot. The police failed to crack the case.