Marriage celebrations turn sour in Rohtak as guest gunned down

A marriage celebration turned sour when a man was gunned down by three unidentified assailants at a banquet hall in Kiloi village under the Sadar Police Station here late on Friday night. Another youth suffered bullet injuries in the attack.

The deceased has been identified as Manjeet of Dighal village (Jhajjar district). The injured, Mandeep of Balamb village (Rohtak), is undergoing treatment at the PGIMS here where his condition is said to be "out of danger".

Family members and residents of Dighal and nearby villages blocked the Rohtak-Jhajjar highway at the Dighal toll plaza in Jhajjar district on Saturday for over two hours. They demanded immediate arrest of the killers. The police had to divert the traffic due to the blockade.

The protesters lifted the blockade when police officials assured them that the killers would be arrested soon. The protesters warned the authorities that they would intensify their protest if the demand is not met.

Meanwhile, the Rohtak police have started investigation after registering a case of murder and arms Act against three unidentified persons on the complaint of Manjeet’s elder brother Mukesh Kumar.

As per the FIR, Mukesh along with Manjeet came to Kiloi village to attend the wedding of their cousin.

“Around 10:30 pm on Friday, two-three armed unidentified youths came to the banquet hall when we were having dinner. They fired indiscriminately on Manjeet from a close range with an intention to kill him. Mandeep sitting adjacent to Manjeet also got injured in the assault. I chased the assailants and also opened fire on them in self-defence from my licensed weapon when they tried to escape. They managed to flee in a car towards Rohtak city,” said the complainant.

Both the injured were rushed to the Trauma Centre at the PGIMS where Manjeet was declared brought dead. On getting information, the police reached the spot and took stock of the situation.

Rishab Sodhi, SHO, Sadar Police Station, said efforts were under way to identify the killers. “Mandeep is out of danger but his statement is yet to be recorded. The killers will be identified and arrested soon," he added.