‘Shot in cold-blood for no reason’: Photographer dead in Ludhiana road rage

Additional DCP-1 Sameer Verma said the two groups were not known to each other and the incident followed an argument after a two-wheeler vehicle brushed against the Creta.

“Prima facie, there was a minor altercation over giving way to a vehicle which led to firing,” Verma said. He added that Raminder and his friends were travelling in multiple vehicles, including an Activa. The Activa allegedly brushed against the Creta, leading to a heated exchange.

Raminder and his friend stopped to mediate the dispute between te Activa scooter rider and the Creta car driver. After the issue was sorted, they resumed their journey home. Minutes later, te Creta car overtook them and the occupants allegedly fired multiple shots.

Inspector Ashwani Kumar, SHO, Division No. 1 police station, said the Creta, which had no number plate, came parallel to the Brezza before the occupants fired at Raminder.

“The victim and the accused were not known to each other,” the SHO added.

Police have registered an FIR for murder against three identified accused and their unidentified accomplices. Teams have been formed to arrest the suspects, Verma said.

Raminder’s family said he worked as a photographer and video editor and ran a studio from his home. He was the sole breadwinner and is survived by his parents, wife Jyoti and two sons, aged eight and two.

His wife said Raminder had told her he would return within an hour after attending the birthday party. “Around 1 am, I got a call from someone who said that my husband was hospitalized in a serious condition. When we reached there, he had died by then,” she said.

“He was shot dead in cold blood for no reason. He was our everything. Now what shall we do?” she said, demanding justice from Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and DGP Gaurav Yadav.

Raminder’s mother questioned the state government’s claims of having curbed gangsterism in Punjab. “CM says that gangsterwaad has ended. If that is so, who shot my son dead and why?” she said.

The incident comes 10 days after 25-year-old Harjinder Singh was shot dead in Ludhiana’s Swatantar Nagar on August 7. Assailants had allegedly pumped five bullets into him and he died on the spot.