National shooter dies by suicide in Mohali

Namanveer Singh Brar, a 29-year-old national shooter and private coach, died by suicide at his house in Sector 71, Mohali, in the wee hours of Monday

Namanveer Singh Brar, a 29-year-old national shooter and private coach, died by suicide at his house in Sector 71, Mohali, in the wee hours of Monday.

National shooter Namanveer Singh Brar shot himself on the right temple with his licensed pistol at his house in Mohali. (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Sub-inspector Amandeep Singh, who is the investigating officer (IO), said the incident took place around 3:35 am, when Brar was alone in his room. “He returned home late and went to his room, while his wife, who is pregnant, was sleeping with her mother-in-law,” said the IO.

Brar shot himself on the right temple with his licensed Austria-made Glock pistol, and died on the spot, said the IO. After hearing the gunshot, the family members rushed him to the civil hospital in Phase 6, Mohali, where the postmortem was conducted.

“Prima facie, it looks like a suicide case,” said the IO, adding that no suicide note was found.

Ruling out foul play, police have initiated inquest proceedings under Section 174 of the Criminal Procedure Code on the statement of Brar’s father, who didn’t want any further investigation. After the postmortem, the body was handed over to family members.

An alumnus of DAV College, Sector 10, and Panjab University, Brar had won the bronze in the double-trap shooting event at the Indian University Championship and World University Games in 2015. He had also won the gold in the Masters Meet Shooting Championship a few years ago. At present, he was providing coaching to young shooters.