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28-year-old Karnal man shot dead by bike-borne assailants
According to the police, the deceased, Veer alias Veeru Valmiki, of Sadar Bazar was accused in at least three criminal cases involving petty disputes or brawls
A 28-year-old man was allegedly shot dead at a close range by two bike-borne men near Luv Kush Colony on Hansi road in Karnal on late Wednesday, police said on Thursday.
According to the police, the deceased, Veer alias Veeru Valmiki, of Sadar Bazar was accused in at least three criminal cases involving petty disputes or brawls. The police are also suspecting a social media rivalry behind the murder.
Police said that the victim was riding his two-wheeler to his sister’s house, when the two bike-borne men stopped him and opened fire.
One of the bullets struck Veer in his head and he collapsed, and the men fled, the police said. The victim was rushed to Kalpana Chawla Government Medical College and Hospital, from where he was referred to a private hospital. However, he was declared dead and the body was shifted to the district civil hospital for autopsy.
Several police teams including CIA, STF, forensic science laboratory (FSL) and others reached the spot and collected evidence.
Meanwhile, right after the incident, an Instagram video went viral, where a man identifying himself as “shooter Samana” claimed responsibility for the killing, alleging that the murder was the result of an argument on social media. However, the purported video was not independently verified by the police.
On Thursday, several members and leaders of the local community along with the victim’s family gathered near the morgue to demand an immediate arrest of the accused.
They also sought a government job for the victim’s wife, who got married this year as well as financial assistance for the poor family, claiming Veeru was their only support. They also refused to allow the postmortem till demands were accepted.
On an intimation, Karnal MLA Jagmohan Anand reached the hospital to meet the family and the community members. He assured them that the accused will be arrested at the earliest and their demands will be kept before chief minister Nayab Singh Saini.
However, community members marched to Ambedkar Chowk and staged an hour-long dharna, blocking a major road. Later, after persuasion, the dharna was lifted. An autopsy was conducted late in the evening, but the family refused to perform the last rites until the accused were arrested.
DSP (HQ) Sandeep Kumar said that SP Narender Bijarniya has constituted five teams to nab the culprits, while a separate team was working to track down the social media content, which could have led to a rivalry.
“Our teams are examining CCTV footage and other evidence to identify the attackers,” the DSP said, adding that the unknown men have been booked under relevant sections of the BNS and efforts are underway to catch them.
