E-Paper
Friend hacks man to death in Panchkula
Body found with multiple wounds, arms partially severed; accused absconding
A 38-year-old man was hacked to death in Panchkula on Sunday morning.
The victim has been identified as Gagandeep Singh Bedi of Sector 26, Panchkula.
On his wife’s complaint, police have booked his friend Sandeep, aka Shibu, of Rampura Phul, Bathinda, for murder. He is absconding.
Bedi’s body was found lying in a pool of blood near the rear entrance to Tau Devi Lal Stadium in Sector 3 around 9am.
There were several deep wounds on his head, face, legs and arms. His arms were partially severed from the body, said police. Bedi’s car was parked nearby on the slip road.
Accused Sandeep’s bag and the sharp-edged weapon used to kill Bedi were also recovered from the spot, said police.
The motive behind the murder is not clear yet. A case has been registered under Section 302 (murder) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) at the Sector 5 police station.
Motive not known
Bedi is survived by his wife Tanu Sharma, who is an astrologer, a nine-year-old daughter and a five-year-old son. They moved to Panchkula from Rampura Phul around three years back and were staying in a rented accommodation in Sector 26. Their own house is being constructed in Sector 27.
According to police, Bedi was running an Uber cab around three months back. A relative said he had recently worked as a manager at a hotel near Pinjore as well. At present, he was unemployed, said his wife.
According to Tanu’s complaint to police, Sandeep was their neighbour in Rampura Phul. He came to meet them on Saturday evening. He even slept there overnight.
After breakfast, Bedi left the house in his Honda Jazz car to drop Sandeep at the Zirakpur bus stand around 8:30am.
When he didn’t return till 9am, Tanu tried calling him but got no response. Later, a policeman answered her call on Bedi’s mobile number and told her that he was found injured near the stadium. When she rushed there, she came to know he had died.
According to police, there is a witness who saw a man attacking Bedi with a sharp-edged weapon.
Bedi’s body has been kept at the mortuary of civil hospital in Sector 6. The postmortem will be conducted on Monday.
Bedi’s parents and younger sister live in Birmingham, England. His father, Amarjeet Singh Bedi, 70, a retired Punjab government official, will be reaching the city on Monday.
“Our priority is to arrest the accused as soon as possible,” said Deepak Gahlawat, officiating Panchkula deputy commissioner. “We have formed three teams to trace him. A team was sent to Bathinda in the morning, The crime branch is also assisting in the investigation.”
On the motive behind the murder, Gahlawat said: “The victim and accused were friends since they were neighbours in Bathinda. The motive is yet to be established. The matter is still under investigation.”
