E-Paper
Zirakpur firing suspect identified, yet to be arrested
The victim, Harpreet Singh, resident of Lohgarh, is out of danger at the Dera Bassi civil hospital.
A day after a man was injured after some youths opened fire near a park at Lohgarh village in Zirakpur, police have identified the main suspect, who has yet to be arrested.
“The main suspect has been identified as Vivek Bhardwaj, a resident of Sector 19, Panchkula. A police team raided his house on Sunday, but it was found locked. He claims to be an online journalist, and is facing several cases, including rape. We are hopeful of arresting him soon,” said Gurwant Singh, station house officer (SHO), Zirakpur.
The victim, Harpreet Singh, resident of Lohgarh, is out of danger at the Dera Bassi civil hospital.
Bhardwaj and another unidentified accused have been booked under Sections 307 (attempt to murder), 506 (criminal intimidation) and 34 (acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention) of the Indian Penal Code and the Arms Act.
The victim told police that he was passing by the park on his motorcycle around 8:30pm on Saturday when a woman sitting there with her friends abused him. When he confronted her, an argument erupted and the woman allegedly made a call to some acquaintances, claiming that he had misbehaved with her.
Harpreet alleged that four to five youths reached the spot in a car and opened fire, with one bullet hitting his leg.
Suspect claims innocence
In a Facebook post, Bhardwaj claimed that he, along with a friend, was passing through Lohgarh, when they saw five to seven drug addicts sexually harassing two girls.
“When we tried to stop them, they attacked us and started hitting one of the girls. We fired in the air to save the girls. But, police have registered a case against us, as they are trying to shield the accused, who are close aides of an influential politician in the area,” he wrote in the post.
