Sec 26 chowkidar found murdered

CHANDIGARH, Feb 5: A man working as a night chowkidar in Sector 26 was found murdered, here this morning. Two men allegedly killed him be...

CHANDIGARH, Feb 5: A man working as a night chowkidar in Sector 26 was found murdered, here this morning. Two men allegedly killed him before they made an unsuccessful attempt to break into a shop-cum-office in the sector. The chowkidar8217;s body was found adjacent to the SCO. According to police sources, the assailants who were two or more men, hit the chowkidar, Khem Lal on his forehead, killing him on the spot. They also tried to break the shutter of the shop-cum-office but when one of the workers who was sleeping inside raised an alarm, they fled the spot.

Quoting the worker, Vinod Kumar, police said it was around 2.30 a.m. that two persons tried to break open the shutter. They hit the lock with a rod when Vinod Kumar started shouting. They also broke a street light. Vinod Kumar did not contact the police or the shop owner as he thought they had run away.

Khem Lal 30 resided in Bapu Dham colony here. His brother is also a night chowkidar in the city.

The police rule out personal enmity to be the cause of the murder. They say robbery was apparently the motive. However, as the shop houses a pharmaceutical office, it did not have any costly material, said police. The police have registered a case under Section 460 of the Indian Penal Code for death caused by persons jointly concerned in house-breaking by night.

The police received information about the incident around 9 a.m. They found the body lying in a park adjacent to the shop in Sector 26. It was covered with the chowkidar8217;s shawl. The head and the face of the deceased were smeared with blood and his hands and feet were tied. One of the locks of the shutter of the shop-cum-office was found broken.

According to one of the showroom partners Ram Pal Nagpal, there is an office and a godown at the SCO. They are the carrier and forwarding agents of certain pharmaceutical companies. Police sources said while usually four policemen are deployed for night patrolling, there were only two last night in the wake of the ongoing Haryana Vidhan Sabha session.