Chandigarh: Days after two young men from Chandigarh were shot dead by unidentified persons in Ambala, the gang which had initially claimed responsibility for killing the two “for revenge” has now said “sorry” and begged for forgiveness from the families of the two, saying they killed the wrong men.
Rahul, 26, and Pardeep alias Panja, 22, residents of Mouli Jagran village, were shot dead when they were returning from a court at the busy Kalka Chowk in Ambala City last Thursday. The two died on the spot when the car they were travelling in was shot at indiscriminately by two masked men from another car.
Following the incident, the Ambala Police arrested history-sheeter Rakesh Kumar from Panchkula Monday evening, and also sought production warrants of notorious gangster Bhupi Rana, once a close accomplice of slain gangster Davinder Bambiha.
Bambiha’s gang had claimed responsibility for the attack.
The killers had their faces covered and parked their vehicle ahead of the car in which the victims were travelling. Two others travelling in the same car with the deceased were injured.
The incident took place in broad daylight at the crowded Kalka Chowk where onlookers surrounded the car, which was attacked, making videos through its shattered panes.
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‘Responsible for this sin’
After the incident, Bambiha’s gang posted Thursday on a Facebook page, attributed to the gangster, that they had avenged the killing of one of their members, Amit alias ‘Meet bouncer’, who was gunned down in Panchkula in 2017.
But on 26 March, another post on the Facebook page said that the two killed in Ambala were “innocent” and had nothing to do with anyone.
“A misunderstanding has led to this loss to the family (of the victims). We are responsible for this sin. With folded hands, we seek forgiveness from the families of the two. May God bless the souls of the two and give strength to the families to bear the loss. And if it is possible, forgive us for this,” stated the post written in Punjabi.
Bambiha was killed in a police encounter near Bathinda in 2016. He was known for bragging about his “achievements” on social media.
Even after his death, his gang is active on his Facebook page. In June 2018, when a police informer was shot dead at Bathinda, his gang had claimed responsibility for the killing.
Police examining Facebook posts
Meanwhile, SHO Ambala City police station Ram Kumar told ThePrint Tuesday that the statement of one of the injured had been recorded, while the condition of the other injured person was critical.
“We have taken both the Facebook posts on record and are examining the claims. The earlier post claiming responsibility for the killing was deleted when the one apologising (for the murder) was put up,” he said.
The SHO added that the Bambiha group has been trying to hunt down rival gang members Maneesh and Amandeep alias Manni, who they believe are responsible for the killing of Amit Bouncer.
“Bouncer was killed outside the Saketri temple in Panchkula in 2017 and seven persons, including Maneesh and Manni, were booked. They remained in jail for sometime and were now out on bail,” he said.
Inspector Sandeep Kumar of Crime Investigative Agency Ambala, who is investigating the case, said the two victims, Rahul and Pradeep, too had a criminal background and were lodged in the Central Jail, Ambala, when a gang war took place inside the prison in July 2019, and 84 jail inmates were booked.
On Thursday, they had come to the court to appear in connection with the case.
“On Thursday, Maneesh and Manni, who too were part of the jail gang war in Ambala, had to come to the court for appearance in the case. But their car — a Verna with a Chandigarh number — broke down and they did not reach the court where the killers were waiting for them. Instead, the killers targeted Rahul and Pradeep who too were in a Verna with a Chandigarh number,” added Kumar.
(Edited by Debalina Dey)
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