2 men injured in shootout in Amritsar’s Chheharta

Two men were injured as two armed men shot at them over an old enmity in Khandwala area in Chheharta here on Saturday night.

The incident that occurred metres away from a police naka led to panic in the area as people were celebrating Janamashtami.

One of the armed assailants, Nikhil Chahal, was also injured in the police firing.

Chahal had fired at the police party led by SHO Vinod Kumar. In the retaliatory firing, he sustained an injury in the leg.

All injured were rushed to hospital where the condition of one of them, Sukhwinder Singh of Mohni Park area, is said to be serious. His friend, Amritpal Singh, also suffered a bullet injury in the hand.

Deputy Commissioner of Police Ravinderpal Singh Sandhu said two groups having old enmity had an altercation at around 10 pm. Nikhil Chahal, along with his accomplice Bikramjit Singh, fired at Sukhwinder, who suffered an injury in the stomach and was critically injured.

Police team led by inspector Vinod Kumar who was patrolling the area responded to the emergency call and started chasing the accused who were fleeing the spot after the crime.

During the chase, Nikhil and his accomplice fired at the police team. The cops retaliated, leaving Nikhil injured. He has been arrested.

Nikhil has two criminal cases against him, one registered at Ludhiana and the other at Chheharta police station.