20-year-old student dies of gunshot injury in Haibowal, Ludhiana

Strap Financer friend among 5 booked; police yet to determine whether firing was deliberate or accidental

Ludhiana

The police have registered a murder case against the victim’s financer friend and his aides, stating that a licensed firearm was used in the crime. (HT)

A 20-year-old undergraduate student was killed by a gunshot in Laxmi Nagar of the Haibowal area late on Tuesday night. The police have registered a murder case against the victim’s financer friend and his aides, stating that a licensed firearm was used in the crime. The police are yet to determine whether the firing was deliberate or accidental.

The deceased has been identified as Pankaj Kumar, a resident of Chander Nagar. On the statement of his father Manoj Kumar, a mechanic, the Haibowal police booked Varun, a financer, his brother Kaif, both residents of Laxmi Nagar, their relatives Garry and Avi of Pritam Nagar, and a friend Nishant of Durgapuri. The accused have been booked under Sections 103 (murder) and 61(2) (criminal conspiracy) of the BNS and Sections 25 and 27 of the Arms Act.

Kumar told the police that Varun and Kaif frequently called his son to their house, a company he did not approve of. He said he had earlier gone to their residence and asked them not to call Pankaj, but the practice continued. On Tuesday around 8.45 pm, he returned home from work and had dinner when the family informed him that Pankaj had gone out to meet a friend. Around 10 pm, he received a call from a man who introduced himself as Vinayak Jain and asked him to reach Dayanand Medical College and Hospital (DMCH).

“I was told that my son had met with an accident, but on reaching the hospital I was informed that he had suffered a bullet injury in the neck and had died,” Kumar said. He later came to know that Pankaj was at Varun’s house along with the other accused when the firing took place.

Sub-inspector Krishan Lal, SHO of Haibowal police station, said that Pankaj’s friends and some local residents rushed him to the hospital after the incident, but he succumbed to his injuries. “Our probe has confirmed that a licenced gun obtained by Varun in December 2025 was used. It is still being investigated whether the shot was fired intentionally or went off accidentally. A case has been registered and the accused are absconding. Efforts are on to trace and arrest them,” he said.