2 killed in firing at Ludhiana wedding; local gangster Shubham Mota booked, 6 held

The deceased were identified as Vasu Chopra and Neeru Chhabra. Another man got injured and is undergoing treatment. Chhabra was the groom’s maternal aunt, while Chopra was his neighbour.

According to the First Information Report (FIR), one group was led by local gangster Shubham Mota, currently out on bail, and the other by his rival Ankur. Both Shubham Mota and Ankur, along with their accomplices, have been booked for murder in the FIR registered at Sadar police station.

Those booked include Ankur and his accomplices, Jasvir Singh alias Jassi of Noorwala Road, Rubal Pardhan of Salem Tabri, Jatinder Kumar Dabur of Shakti Vihar, Haibowal and four to five accomplices. The second group includes Shubham Mota, Yuvraj Singh and four to five unidentified accomplices.

“They (both groups) came to the wedding laced with weapons,” says the FIR. Both groups were invited by the groom, said the police.

Ludhiana Police Commissioner Swapan Sharma said that six suspects have been arrested.

The incessant firing led to panic among guests who rushed to leave the venue.

The FIR registered on the complaint of ASI Sukhwinder Singh says that the police received the information around 1 am on Sunday that a gunfight had broken out at Bath Castle, where the wedding of Varinder Kapoor, a resident of New Kartar Nagar, Salem Tabri, was being solemnised.

Kapoor, the groom, and his paternal uncle are local contractors. Owners of a firm called Bhola Shankar and Company, they organise trade fairs, Dussehra fairs, etc across Punjab. The wedding was a high-profile one, with several local politicians, MLAs, police officers and other influential people of the city also in attendance, said police sources.

The FIR in the case against Ankur, Shubham Mota and their accomplices has been registered under Sections 109 (attempt to murder), 103 (murder), 191 (3) (rioting), and 190 (unlawful assembly) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and Sections 25 and 27 of the Arms Act. Mota is previously booked in at least six cases, including an attempt to murder.

‘Groom, wedding venue management booked’

Police Commissioner Sharma said that the management of the wedding venue was also booked for “repeatedly violating security guidelines and norms issued by the administration,” and the groom for “inviting notorious people”.

“The marriage palace owner flouted the norms by allowing people carrying weapons inside the venue. Some of the youths involved in the incident have a history of scuffles and quarrels. The clash escalated under the influence of alcohol over an instant issue,” said Sharma.

However, Kapoor denied inviting Shubham Mota and Ankur to the wedding. He told local media, “I could not even understand what happened. We (the baraat) arrived around 11.30 pm. The wedding was going on when eight to nine outsiders entered the venue running. The family suddenly told me to hide under the stage. We just heard gunshots being fired continuously. We did not even know who opened fire. My maternal aunt and neighbour died. We did not invite any such elements.

“For us, all festivities have been finished. We had invited some MLAs, such as (Ludhiana North) MLA Madan Lal Bagga, as we have family relations with them. Our reception party scheduled for today (Sunday) has also been cancelled. The marriage was completed at home after the incident.”

AAP Ludhiana Central MLA Ashok Parashar Pappi told The Indian Express: “I was invited, but I did not go (to the wedding). I was scheduled to attend the reception today.”