Trader shot dead in clash between groups outside tavern in Ludhiana

The provocation for the clash is not clear yet, the police said, adding that alarmed at their ruckus, the tavern owner had asked both groups to leave his property.

A 35-year-old trader, Varinder Singh, of Krishna Nagar, Moga, in Punjab was shot dead in a clash between two groups at a liquor tavern in Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar of Ludhiana on Sunday evening.

Victim Varinder Singh (HT Photo)

Varinder, a nephew of Moga councillor Manjit Singh Dhammu, was among a group of four friends drinking at a tavern when they entered into a scuffle with another group.

His friends Sunny, Satnam and Lucky had accompanied him. The provocation for the clash is not clear yet, the police said, adding that alarmed at their ruckus, the tavern owner had asked both groups to leave his property.

“After coming out of the tavern, the two groups entered into a scuffle. Weapons were flashed. A bullet hit Varinder in his jaw and he fell to the ground. His friends rushed him to the Dayanand Medical College and Hospital, where he succumbed to injuries. We suspect that the bullet that killed him was fired from his own weapon,” a police source added.

“We have recovered two weapons from the spot and are concentrating on these,” said Dugri SHO, Ashok Kumar.

No First-Information Report (FIR) was registered till the filing of the report.