Gangster shot dead outside Hisar court, one arrested

According to the police, the deceased, a resident of Thurana village of Hansi district, was leaving the complex after attending a court hearing when the attack took place

Gangster Vinod Panu alias Kana was shot dead by two assailants at the main gate of the Hisar district court complex on Thursday afternoon, police said.

According to police, gangster Panu was facing 31 criminal cases, including murder, attempt to murder and extortion. (HT)

The deceased, a resident of Thurana village of Hansi district, was leaving the complex after attending a court hearing when the attack took place, police said.

According to police, Panu was facing 31 criminal cases, including murder, attempt to murder and extortion. He was out on bail and had appeared in court for a hearing.

The incident took place around 2.45 pm when Panu was leaving the court after attending a court hearing, police said.

Preliminary investigation and eyewitness accounts suggest that two armed assailants first opened fire at Panu in the court parking area before chasing him towards the main gate, where they shot him multiple times.

Advocate Dipanshu Kadwasra, who was present at the spot, told the media that he saw Panu lying on the ground.

“The shooters fired another five to six rounds at him. The accused then tried to flee towards the lawyers’ parking area, but the police chased and apprehended one of the accused,” he said.

Hisar superintendent of police Siddhant Jain said a person has been taken into custody and police have also recovered the weapon.

The accused has been identified as Rakesh Kumar alias Raka, a resident of Kharad.

Police said Kumar is facing seven criminal cases, including attempt to murder, extortion, theft, robbery and offences under the Arms Act, in Hisar, Hansi, Jind and Rohtak districts.

“Preliminary investigation suggests that murder was driven by an old enmity. We will also investigate if there were lapses in court security. At present, five to six of our teams are investigating various aspects of the case,” the SP said.

The police said Panu’s body was sent for the postmortem examination and an investigation is underway.