Patiala double murder: Main accused arrested

The district police have arrested the main accused of the double murder case of former national-level hockey player and his friend, on Thursday. Cops has recovered a .12-bore gun from the accused, who was arrested from Dhenthal village in Patiala.

The 19-year-old murder accused in police custody in Patiala(HT PHOTO)

Amrik Singh, who played for Punjab at the national level, and his friend Simranjit Singh were shot dead outside a dhaba near Majithia Enclave in Patiala on February 19 night.

According to police, accused Manraj Singh, 19, a resident of Dugal Kalan village near Patran, was arrested while his father Amandeep Singh, 45, is yet to be nabbed. Manraj is a trapshooter who had won gold in the military shotgun championship.

Patiala senior superintendent of police (SSP) Mandeep Singh Sidhu said that the accused had been staying in a paying guest accommodation nearby since one week before the murder. Manraj is perusing Bachelor of Arts from Lovely Professional University (LPU) Jalandhar and was undergoing shooting training from Patiala.

The SSP added that Amandeep owns a few acres at Dugal Kalan and he is not in good terms with his wife, resulting in his wife and son living separately in Patiala.

THE INCIDENT

As per police, the victims, who were employees of the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL), were having dinner at a local dhaba, and objected to Manraj addressing the dhaba owner’s daughter-in-law as ‘aunty’. A heated argument ensued between them.

“The father-son duo left the dhaba only to return a few minutes later with a .12 bore rifle. One of them opened fire at Amrik and Simranjit from point-blank range. The two died on the spot and the accused fled from the scene,” a senior police official had said. The accused were putting up at a paying guest accommodation near the dhaba.