A prosecution witness on Friday refused to identify jailed gangster Lawrence Bishnoi during the trial of a 14-year-old attempt-to-murder case linked to violence at a Chandigarh college, dealing a setback to the prosecution in one of the city’s most controversial campus clash cases.
Bishnoi was produced before the court through video conferencing from Ahmedabad jail. During examination, prosecution witness Navneet Singh told the court that he neither knew nor recognised Bishnoi, defence counsel Harish Bhardwaj said.
The case dates back to 2012, when a violent clash broke out at DAV College, Sector 10, Chandigarh, between rival student groups. Police had registered an FIR for attempt to murder and other offences following allegations that armed men attacked supporters of the Panjab University Students Union (PUSU).
According to the original complaint lodged by Ankit Grover, then a BTech student at Chandigarh Engineering College, Landran, he and his friends had visited Panjab University after Jeevanjot Chahal was announced chairman of PUSU. Later, they went to DAV College to attend a ‘star night’ event.
Grover alleged that a group led by Bishnoi and Amandeep Singh Multani entered the college premises through the back gate after breaking the lock and attacked PUSU supporters who were preparing for the event. During the violence, the accused allegedly opened fire and assaulted students with sharp weapons and sticks, leaving several injured.
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Police registered the case under Sections 307 (attempt to murder), 148 and 149 (rioting), 452 (forcible house trespass), 323 and 325 (voluntarily causing hurt), and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code, along with relevant provisions of the Arms Act.
The trial is presently proceeding only against Bishnoi, who had earlier been declared a proclaimed offender in the case. Charges were framed against him in January 2022.
Four other accused, Amandeep Singh Multani, Vicky Middukhera (now deceased), Tarsem Singh and Ranjot Singh, were acquitted earlier after the complainant and other witnesses turned hostile during trial proceedings.
The incident is widely regarded as one of the most notorious episodes of violence in Panjab University’s student politics, which at the time reflected intense rivalry between campus factions and later fed into larger gang conflicts in the region.
The prosecution has listed 21 witnesses in the case. With key witnesses resiling from earlier statements, the trial’s outcome may hinge on remaining testimonies and documentary evidence yet to be examined by the court.
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