ASHISHPURI
The family of Mani, a young wrestler who was shot dead in Kapurthala, staged a protest at Fawwara Chowk in the city, demanding the immediate arrest of all the accused. Although the City Police have registered an FIR against eight persons on the statement of the deceased’s father, Bagga, no arrests have been made so far.
The protesting family has decided not to perform Mani’s last rites until all the accused are arrested. They have also demanded a government job for one member of the family as compensation.
MLA Rana Gurjeet Singh, along with BJP leaders and representatives of various political parties, reached the protest site and extended their support to the bereaved family.
Meanwhile, SHO City Police Station Ranjit Singh said that the accused would be arrested soon.
The family members of the deceased staged the protest on Wednesday afternoon at Fawwara Chowk, expressing anger over the delay in the arrest of those allegedly involved in the murder. The family reiterated that Mani’s cremation would not be performed until the accused were taken into police custody. They also urged the administration to provide a government job to one member of the family.
According to the complaint lodged with the police, Bagga, son of Jailaram and a resident of Mohalla Mehtabgarh, stated that on the night of November 9, at around 7:30 pm, he was on the rooftop of his house along with his brother Pal Singh and nephew Manpreet. His son Mani, who was a wrestler, also joined them shortly afterwards. The family members were celebrating by bursting firecrackers.
The complainant alleged that shortly thereafter, Kamal and Akash, both sons of Dhanju and residents of Mehtabgarh, arrived at the spot along with their associates, carrying pistols and other deadly weapons. They allegedly started firing indiscriminately.
During the incident, Kamalpreet Singh, son of Jaspal, allegedly fired a shot from his pistol, which struck Mani in the chest. The youth collapsed on the spot after being hit by the bullet.
With the help of family members and neighbours, Mani was rushed to the Civil Hospital in Kapurthala for treatment, where the doctor on duty declared him dead.
Acting on the complaint, the City Police registered a case against eight accused identified as Kamal and Akash, both sons of Dhanju; Kamalpreet Singh and Manpreet Singh, both sons of Jaspal; Deepa, son of Prem Bhagat; Pawa, son of Sandy; Sagar; and Dhol, son of Kashmiri.
SHO Ranjit Singh clarified that no arrests had been made so far. He added that police teams were conducting continuous raids at various locations to apprehend all the accused.