One of the shooters involved in the murder of kabaddi promoter-cum-player Kanwar Digvijay Singh alias Rana Balachauria was killed on Saturday, allegedly during an exchange of fire with the Punjab Police in Mohali after he escaped from police custody.
Karan Pathak alias Karan Defaulter, a resident of Amritsar, and another shooter, Tarandeep Singh, and their accomplice from Howrah in West Bengal were arrested a few days ago by the Punjab Police's Anti-Gangster Task Force (AGTF).
Rana Balachauria (30) was shot dead by assailants during a kabaddi tournament at Sohana in Mohali on December 15. Speaking to reporters on Saturday, Mohali SSP Harmandeep Singh Hans said Pathak was in the custody of the Crime Investigation Agency (CIA).
Pathak complained of chest pain on Friday night. When he was being taken to a hospital, the police vehicle hit a road divider because of foggy weather at around 11:30 pm and Pathak escaped, the SSP said.
A manhunt was launched across the district while the police in Chandigarh, Rupnagar and Fatehgarh Sahib were alerted. Various police checkpoints were set up to trace the accused.
A police team spotted him in Kharar in Mohali at around 6:30 am on Saturday and asked him to stop, but he tried to run away. Pathak fired six to seven rounds at the police. In retaliation, the police also fired gunshots, injuring him.
He was initially taken to a nearby hospital, but was later rushed to a government hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries.
Asked from where he got the weapon to fire at the police, the SSP said Pathak was at large for six-seven hours and he might have procured the weapon, which is yet to be recovered, from a place where he had kept it.
Also read: Gang behind kabaddi player’s murder, shooters identified
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