Two groups clash in Sector 24,one dead,three injured

Ricky died in the attack and Salim,Ajit and Montu sustained severe injuries.

The two groups,headed by Navdeep Sharma and Gola,had developed enmity over a girl known to Navdeep,the police said.

The girl was allegedly manhandled by Gola a few days ago,following which he and Naveep had a heated argument two days ago.

Around 8 pm on Friday,Gola and Salim had a scuffle with Navdeep and his brother Manu in Sector 41.

But they were pacified by the area residents.

Subsequently,Gola and Salim returned to Sector 24 and asked their friends to gather near a cycle repair shop in the area.

“Around 9:30 pm,Navdeep and Salim again argued over the matter. After about 20 minutes,Navdeep,Manu and their friends Shibbi,Kafil,Donald and a few other youths attacked Gola and others,” an investigating official said.

The accused came in a Maruti Zen car and on three motorcycles,the police said.

Ricky and Salim,who received maximum blows in the attack,sustained numerous wounds on their bodies and severe injuries on heads. Salim was admitted in GMCH-16. Montu and Ajit received wounds on their hands.

The injured were rushed to the hospital by police control room vans.

Manu and Navdeep Sharma have been arrested,while Shibbi,Kafil and Donald are absconding.

“We are conducting raids and will nab them soon. We will seek the police custody of the accused for recovery of weapons used in the crime,” Inspector Sukhbir Rana,SHO of the Sector-11 police station,said.

Victim’s training was to begin at a hotel
Ricky,who had recently passed out from a hotel management institute,was to begin his training at a Sector-22 hotel from Saturday.

Two days ago,he had come to his cousin Salim’s residence in Sector 24. He lived with his family in a village in Hoshiarpur.

His father Janak Raj works as a conductor in the Chandigarh Transport Undertaking. “For about a fortnight,I was taking him to the Sector-16 hospital,as he had complained of chest pain,” Raj said. “Last week,I took him back to Hoshiarpur,from where he returned to Chandigarh on Tuesday.”

Salim is a student of UIET,Panjab University,and Ajit recently passed Class X from a local school. Montu is son of a businessman,who runs a cycle repair shop in Sector 24.

Father of accused Manu and Navdeep is a government servant and employed in the Auditors General Office,Sector 17.

“Shibbi,Kafil and Donald are residents of Chandigarh villages and close friends of Manu and Navdeep,” a police officer said.

‘Accused unleashed terror’
Sector-24 residents said the accused “unleashed terror in the area”. They chased Montu and Salim to their houses and brandished swords and iron rods,while hurling abuses at the victims running for their lives.

“They kept roaming in the area with swords for more than 20 minutes. Our house is right in front of the Sector-24 police post,but they had the audacity to do this,” an agitated relative of Montu said.