Road rage: Man shot dead in Punjab’s Zirakpur
He had intervened in a road rage incident involving his friends and another group of revellers
A 35-year-old man was shot dead after he intervened in a road rage incident involving his friends and another group of revellers on Zirakpur’s VIP Road in wee hours of Saturday.
The victim has been identified as Anil Thakur, who belonged to Mandi district in Himachal Pradesh, and was residing with his family at Daun village in Kharar. He provided elevator repair services, and is survived by his wife and 10-month-old son, said police.
Police have registered a case of murder against seven people, including Happy Brar, who is a businessman from Faridkot in Punjab, and a woman.
Brar was the one who opened fire from his .12 bore pistol, said police, adding that three shots were fired, two of which hit Thakur in his chest and abdomen and one hit his vehicle’s tyre.
“All the accused have been identified and raids are on to arrest them,” said Satinder Singh, senior superintendent of police, Mohali.
No arrest has been made so far, but sources said shells of three bullets have been recovered from the spot besides a red Maruti Swift car. A case under Section 302 (murder) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) has been registered at the Zirakpur police station.
Brawl over denying passage to SUV
Thakur had gone to his hometown a week back and returned on Friday. In the evening, he went to attend his friend Vinay’s birthday party at a discotheque in Sector 26.
Later, a dozen of them drove to a roadside eatery on the Chandigarh-Ambala highway in Zirakpur and had dinner.
Anil then left for his house in his Honda Accent while Vinay and others, including Arman and Aman, left in a Toyota Fortuner to drop a friend on VIP Road in Zirakpur.
As Vinay reached the Domino’s outlet on VIP Road, he tried to overtake another Fortuner, but was allegedly denied passage. As he finally managed to overtake, he and his friends allegedly hurled abuses at the occupants of the other SUV, being driven by Happy Brar. There were two more men and a woman sitting in the SUV.
Brar allegedly chased, overtook and intercepted Vinay’s SUV, and brandishing a pistol, he pulled out Arman.
Meanwhile, a few more men known to Brar reached the spot in a red Maruti Swift. The group then allegedly hurled stones at Vinay’s Fortuner and damaged it.
Meanwhile, Aman called Thakur and told him about the brawl. He immediately returned to the spot, only to be shot at. On being rushed to hospital in Dera Bassi, he was declared brought dead
‘Accused shouted out his name before firing’
Vinay in his statement to police said that before opening fire, the accused shouted out his own name. “You should have checked my background before getting involved with me. I am Happy Brar from Faridkot,” he is alleged to have said.
Police said Brar claims to be associated with a political party on his social media profiles. Initial investigations revealed that he is already named as an accused in a number of cases.
Till about two years ago, he used to operate a discotheque in Zirakpur, said an investigating official, and at present operates a discotheque in Sector 26, Chandigarh.
