Chandigarh Police to file appeal against acquittal of four accused in double murder case

In February, a local court had acquitted Ankit Narwal, a former student leader; Sunil, alias Sheelu, a student at a Panipat college; Vicky, alias Kalu; and Amit after the police failed to prove their role in the murder of the victims

Chandigarh Police will be filing an appeal against acquittal of four accused in the 2019 double murder case, wherein two college students were shot dead at their rented accommodation in Sector 15. The prime accused in the case, Deepak Ranga, was arrested by the NIA in January.

Gangster Deepak Ranga (above), the prime accused in the case, was brought from the Amritsar Central Jail on production warrant last month. (HT file photo)

Officials part of the investigating team said the police would file the appeal before the Punjab and Haryana high court this week.

In February, a local court had acquitted Ankit Narwal, a former student leader; Sunil, alias Sheelu, a student at a Panipat college; Vicky, alias Kalu; and Amit after the police failed to prove their role in the murder of the victims.

“We will file an appeal on scientific grounds. The bullet shells matched the weapons used in the crime, which were earlier recovered from the accused. Moreover, the disclosure made by Ranga about the bounty he got for the execution of the murder and the involvement of the co-accused will also be submitted in the court,” a senior police officer said on the condition of anonymity.

The police will also file a supplementary chargesheet in the case, he added.

As per the investigation, Ranga used to eliminate targets on the directions of gangsters Lawrence Bishnoi and Raju Basodi.

The police said that in the double murder case, he received ₹2 lakh from Basodi to eliminate Ashu Nain as his friend Ankit had an enmity towards him. “Ranga, along with Ankit, Sunil, Vicky and Amit, entered Nain’s room in Sector 15 and opened fire. However, Nain had already left the room but his two friends -- Ajay and Vineet -- were still there, who became the collateral damage,” the police officer quoted above said.

Ranga, 23, of Haryana’s Jhajjar district, was arrested by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) from Uttar Pradesh in January for his involvement in the RPG attack on the Punjab Police intelligence headquarters in Mohali in May last year.

During their probe into the double murder case and 2019 Sonu Shah murder case, Chandigarh Police established Ranga’s role and brought him from the Amritsar Central Jail on production warrant last month.

Who were the victims

The victims in the double murder case were Ajay, a student of a Sector-32 college, and Vineet, who studied at a college in Sector 11 in Chandigarh. Natives of Haryana’s Jind, they were in their early 20s and associated with the Hindustan Student Association.

On the night of December 18, 2019, five armed men came to enquire about Ashu Nain.

When the victims feigned ignorance about Nain’s whereabouts, the assailants fired 21 shots and fled, complainant Mohit Punia had said.

The victims succumbed to their multiple gunshot wounds at Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh.

According to the police, Nain had left the second-floor of their rented accommodation just a few moments before the attack.

In February 2023, a Chandigarh court had acquitted the four accused after the key witness turned hostile.