Links to the Lucky Patial gang have emerged in the murder of a 16-year-old boy who was shot dead outside the Sanatan Dharam Temple in Sector 22-B on Thursday night.
According to the police, the juvenile detained in the case had approached the gang to take down the victim with whom he had a long-standing rivalry.
The Lucky Patial gang had earlier claimed responsibility for a property dealer’s murder in Sector 9. In this case too, the gang had been hired by a resident to settle scores with the victim.
Police said that in the latest case, the rivalry between the victim and the juvenile began when they were studying in a private school in Sector 44. Police said the victim had allegedly thrashed him in a park in Sector 34 and uploaded a video of the incident on Instagram. The video has since been deleted but the juvenile continued to hold a grudge.
While police are still piecing together the clues, they said that preliminary findings suggest that the juvenile had reached out to the gang through the brother of a friend. Following this, the gang assigned two men for the job. The duo is currently on the run.
{{/usCountry}}While police are still piecing together the clues, they said that preliminary findings suggest that the juvenile had reached out to the gang through the brother of a friend. Following this, the gang assigned two men for the job. The duo is currently on the run.
{{/usCountry}}Police are investigating how they communicated and where they acquired the pistol from. The weapon is yet to be recovered. The shots were fired from a .32 bore pistol, police added.
Case transferred to operation cell
In wake of the gang angle, the case has been transferred from the Sector 17 police station to the operations cell.
According to information, the victim was sitting in an autorickshaw with his friend and the autodriver when the two gang members, along with the juvenile, arrived on a motorcycle and opened fire. The juvenile had allegedly pointed the gang members to the target, it has emerged.
In all three rounds were fired, out of which, one hit the autodriver’s shoulder. The victim tried to get out of the auto and flee towards the temple. But he was hit. He was rushed to Government Multi-Specialty Hospital (GMSH), Sector 16, where doctors declared him brought dead. The autodriver, in his 50s, is recuperating at the hospital and is said to be stable.
Did not know the scale of rivalry: Family
The victim’s family stood devastated outside the mortuary at Government Multi-Specialty Hospital (GMSH), Sector 16, on Friday, where his post-mortem examination was scheduled to be conducted. His cousin said the 16-year-old had recently joined a school in Sector 32 after opting for commerce in Class 11. His father runs a timber business in Phase 2, Ramdarbar, and the family had hoped the teenager would take over the business after completing his studies.
Family members described him as a calm and simple boy and said they had not realised the extent of the rivalry with the accused. They had believed the dispute would not continue after he left the private school, where he studied up till Class-10.