Mohali: Man shot dead near Kharar village, police rule out gang war angle

The police said that Deepa was allegedly shot around 9 am on Friday. Deepa’s two friends Gurmeet Singh alias Geeta, and Parminder Singh had later rushed him to the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER), where he succumbed during treatment in the afternoon.

The police allege that while Deepa was receiving treatment at PGI, Geeta managed to escape from the hospital. Later, after Deepa succumbed, the police rounded up Parminder Singh who was present at the hospital. During questioning, Parminder told the police that it was Geeta who had fired at Deepa in the morning after the duo had some altercation.

A police officer probing the case said that Geeta had an illegal weapon which he used in the crime.

DSP (Kharar-1), Rupinder Kaur Sohi, said that the preliminary investigations so far had shown that both Deepa and Geeta were close friends and used to often hang out together in the area.

Sohi added that Geeta was out on bail in the Gurlal Brar murder case which took place in Chandigarh in October 2020.

“The motive behind Friday’s shooting is not clear yet. Locals have so far told us that there was an altercation between the accused and the assailant which led to the incident. Deepa sustained two bullet injuries which led to his death,” the DSP said.

Sohi further said that both Geeta and Deepa had had dinner together on Thursday, adding that Geeta had recently come out of a drug de-addiction centre. Some locals of the area said that they had heard gunshots in the morning, and later found that Deepa had been shot dead.

As per details, Geeta had previously been arrested by Chandigarh Police for allegedly having provided a motorbike to Neeraj Chaska and Mani, who shot dead Goldy Brar’s cousin — Gurlal Brar — outside a discotheque in Industrial Area in Chandigarh in 2020. The Bambiha gang had then taken responsibility for Gurlal’s murder.

Goldy Brar had subsequently responded by gunning down Punjabi singer Sidhu Moosewla in May last year. Goldy Brar, in an alleged social media post later, had stated that Moosewala had been killed to avenge the deaths of Gurlal and
Vicky Middukhera, a former student union leader who had been shot dead on August 7,
2021.

In the present case, Kharar (sadar) police said they had registered a murder case and further probe was on.
Contacted, Mohali Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), Dr Sandeep Garg, ruled out the gangwar angle and said that investigations in the case was ongoing.

One of Deepa’s neighbour, requesting anonymity, said that both the men were into drugs and used to roam around in the village.