Gang war at Ludhiana wedding: police arrest 1 key accused, file 2 more FIRs

Karanveer Singh, Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police (ADCP) City 2, said, “Shubham Arora alias Mota is still absconding”.

Mota, a criminal on police record, is out on bail in connection with another case.

According to the FIR, both gangs came “laced with weapons with an intention to kill each other at the wedding.”

So far, seven people have been arrested in connection with the murders during the Ludhiana wedding firing.

Groom booked

Varinder Kapoor has been named as an accused in the murder FIR registered against Mota, Ankur, and other accomplices at the Sadar Police Station.

“Varinder Kapoor has been booked for the offence of criminal negligence and nominated in the murder FIR registered against both groups. He is yet to be arrested,” said ADCP Singh.

Two guests — Vasu Chopra, Kapoor’s neighbour and childhood friend, and Neeru Chhabra, the groom’s maternal aunt — died, and another man, Jatinder Kumar Dabar, one of the accused named in the FIR from Ankur’s group, was injured in the firing.

The police said Dabar will be arrested once his treatment is completed.

Meanwhile, Chopra’s last rites were held Monday amid heart-rending scenes. His mother, wife and two children bid him a tearful adieu, as they questioned how criminals had entered the wedding.

FIR against security guards, gangster’s aides

The Ludhiana police registered two more FIRs, one against the security team of Bath Castle for “letting the weapons-laced accused inside the venue”, and the other against Ankur’s aides for “sheltering them” after the shootout.

Bhushan Kumar of Harbanspura, Ajay Kumar Chhabra of Chhawni Mohalla, Chotu Ram of Noorwala Road, and Sandeep Kaur of Barewal have been booked for allegedly sheltering Ankur and his gang members after the Ludhiana wedding firing.

They have been booked under sections 249 (harbouring or concealing an offender) and 253 (harbouring an offender who has escaped from custody) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) at the Sadar Police Station.

In another FIR, Jashanpreet Singh, Lovepreet Singh and Bhagwant Singh, security guards of the Bath Castle resort, were booked for criminal negligence by letting the people carrying weapons go inside the venue and putting the lives of other guests at stake.

They have been booked under the BNS sections 163 (immediate/urgent danger to public safety) and 125 (acts endangering human life/public safety).

ADCP Karanveer Singh said the resort won’t be allowed to host any other functions until the probe into the case is ongoing.