Mohali brawl accused sent to judicial custody

A local court today sent Maninderpal Singh, a resident of Sector 66, to judicial custody in the case pertaining to the death of Dr Abhishek Swarnkar (39). The victim, a scientist of the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, died in a brawl over parking on March 11.

Four days after the death of Swarnkar, the police arrested the accused at Phase 11 on Saturday. Maninderpal Singh, an IT professional, was booked for culpable homicide not amounting to murder at the Phase 11 police station on March 12. He and Abhishek had a heated argument over parking a bike in the neighbourhood that turned violent.

The victim was reportedly undergoing treatment for a kidney-related problem at the PGI. The exact cause of death would be known after viscera report, said the police.

The accused lives with his family in the house adjacent to the victim’s.

The victim’s mother, Malti Devi claimed that their next-door neighbours had been harassing them over the parking of their son’s bike for the past one year.