2 hurt in cinema fracas; MLA’s nephew among 3 booked

The condition of the guard, admitted to the PGI Emergency, is stated to be stable. Twenty-year-old Vijay Kumar has been working for Surakhsha, a private security agency, for the past two years.

Devi Lal, the driver accompanying Aman Beniwal, was admitted to the General Hospital with injuries, allegedly received in the incident.

Only last Monday, gunshots were fired when rival groups clashed outside the Sector 17 district courts in connection with a murder in Sector 10 earlier. Among those booked was a DSP of the Punjab Police.

Today’s incident, which occurred at 11.45 a.m., was a sequel to an altercation which took place yesterday. According to sources, Aman, residing in the Sector 3 MLA hostel, and a friend Rajiv, along with two girls, had an altercation with security-guard Vijay Kumar when he was checking tickets during the evening (6 to 9) show of the Aamir Khan starrer, Ghulam.

Vijay Kumar asked the group to shift to the seats allotted to them as they were sitting on the wrong seats. An altercation followed and according to Vijay Kumar, Aman slapped him for "disturbing" them. Vijay slapped him back and also hit him with a torch. The group sat through the show and allegedly threatened to teach Vijay Kumar a lesson the follow-ing day.

According to an eyewitness, Aman again had an altercation with Vijay at the main entrance to the hall when he came to the theatre today. During the scuffle, the gunman is reported to have fired from his stengun, which he had hidden under a piece of cloth. The bullet which injured Vijay in the chest made its exit through his right shoulder.

The three escaped in a green-coloured Mahindra jeep (HYN-515), which was waiting outside the cinema hall. The jeep was later impounded.

While people waiting outside did move away after the shootout, the show continued. In fact, the audience did not hear the gunshots as a song was on at that moment. Blood-stains could be seen at the entrance hall and the stairs minutes after the incident. The manager, Ashwani Malhotra, was sitting in the office with Capt Sanjeev Lal, owner of the private security agency which has the contract for providing security services, when the incident took place. Ashwani said they rushed down when another guard informed them and Capt Lal tried to catch the gunman but he escaped. Vijay was taken to City Hospital in Sector 34, from where he was referred to the PGI.

According to information given to the police, driver Devi Lal, who had gone in with the other two, was injured with some blunt weapon during a scuffle. He has two wounds on the neck and another one on the face and though gunshot injuries have been alleged, doctors attending on him have denied any such injuries. "These are lacerated wounds which can be caused by some weapon or even a fall," said a doctor.

No witnesses could corroborate the fact that Devi Lal entered the hall and was injured in the fray. Vijay Kumar told Newsline that only two persons hit him and that Devi Lal did not come in.

Despite repeated efforts, it was not possible to talk to Devi Lal as the Chandigarh Police personnel guarding him said doctors had refrained him from talking to anyone. A case under Sections 307, 34 and 452 of IPC along with Sections 25, 27, 54 and 59 of the Arms Act has been registered.