Youth murdered in Mauli Jagran

Eighteen-year-old Pradeep was allegedly murdered by a group of boys,including minors,following a quarrel on the street around 8.30 pm on Tuesday night while he was returning home from a shop at Sector 9,Panchkula,where he worked.

The quarrel erupted soon after Pradeep identified a youth who had attacked him and snatched his cell phone and wallet containing Rs 7,000 on Saturday night,his father Arjun Singh told the police.

As Pradeep and his younger brother Kuldeep,who was accompanying him,attempted to get hold of the youth,he called more youths and they entered into a quarrel,Singh added.

One of them stabbed a screwdriver in Pradeep’s stomach,wounding him badly. He was taken to the Government Medical College and Hospital,where he succumbed to injuries,the police said.

Deputy Superintendent of Police (East) J S Cheema said the police had identified all the accused and seven to eight persons were rounded up in connection with the murder. “We have arrested few suspects and will arrest all of them soon. While some of them are minors,the main culprits are Ashish,Bamb and Channa,” he said.

Locals demand immediate action

Demanding immediate action against the accused,locals gheraoed the police post at Mauli Jagran on Wednesday morning. Showing solidarity with the Singh family,they accused the police of not tightening the noose around the miscreants.

Heavy police presence was seen outside the police post as residents blocked the way. It was only after the police assured them of strict and immediate action that the situation was diffused.

“The incidents of snatching are on the rise but some police personnel shield miscreants instead of putting them behind the bars,” rued an angry resident of Mauli Jagran. A local leader said though there were two police posts within a distance of half-a-kilometre,the police failed to curb crime in the area. “Criminal activities are on the rise,but the police remain mute spectators,” said another resident.

On the locals’ fury against the police,Cheema said strict action would be taken against anybody in uniform found guilty of shielding the miscreants.