‘Order to shoot anyone, anytime?’: Father of Ludhiana man shot 5 times

Harjinder, a property dealer and cloth businessman, was allegedly waylaid in Swatantra Nagar while he was dropping off three friends — Sandeep, Ravi and Janu — in his car. CCTV footage of the attack, which surfaced later, shows a group of men dragging him out of the vehicle, firing multiple round at him and continuing to assault him with sticks and sharp-edged weapons.

Police said five bullets hit Harjinder. His arms and legs were allegedly fractured in the assault. The attackers had arrived in an SUV.

The CCTV footage, shard on the social media, left residents shocked, but for Harjinder’s family, the brutality has been compounded by the wait for arrests.

“Which law and order do they talk about? It’s not law and order, it’s an order to shoot anyone, anytime… they just come and shoot. They don’t just kill a man, they kill his entire family,” Jawahar said.

His wife, Harjinder’s mother, is recovering from two recent surgeries and, according to Jawahar, has remained unconscious since learning of their son’s death. Their daughter, who lives abroad, has been crying inconsolably for four days, he said.

“For four days, we are running pillar to post to get justice,” he said.

Police have arrested two accused, but the family has refused to cremate Harjinder until all those named in the FIR are arrested.

According to Punjab DGP Gaurav Yadav, the arrested accused have been identified as Mohit Kumar of Jassian Road and Manjeet alias Bobby of Chandarlok Colony. Police recovered a 9mm Glock pistol and a live cartridge from their possession.

The DGP said Manjeet had a criminal history, including cases of attempt to murder and offences under the NDPS Act. He allegedly operated a local gang in Ludhiana.

ADGP, Anti-Gangster Task Force, Promod Ban said AGTF teams led by Inspector Vikramjeet Singh, in coordination with Ludhiana Commissionerate Police, arrested the two from the Tibba area.

Four other accused — Ravi, Sunny Malton, Bheenu and unidentified accomplices — remain absconding, police said.

Jawahar said his son may not have been the intended target. “The assailants had actually come for my son’s friend Sandeep, who was also with him. But they attacked Harjinder. I don’t know why. Some months ago, there was a clash between the two groups. But my son was targeted for no reason,” he claimed.

Police, however, said the case involved two groups whose members had previously been associated with each other. Inspector Gaganpreet Singh, SHO of Tibba police station, said, “They were friends turned foes. All of them were engaged in criminal activities in the past, including Harjinder. He has one previous case registered against him.”

Jawahar disputed this. “I am not aware of any case against my son registered in the past. Police never came to our house earlier,” he said.