New Delhi: The Tarn Taran Police in Punjab Wednesday arrested a local man, Manjit Singh alias ‘Katta’, for firing indiscriminately at a car occupied by three local men, including a Non-Resident Indian (NRI) who had returned recently from the United States, officers said. The shooting, in the Khemkaran area of the border district, was captured by surveillance cameras and went viral on social media.
The incident left the NRI, Gursewak Singh, dead while two other occupants of the car were grievously injured and admitted to Khemkaran’s Anand Hospital.
Sources in the Punjab Police said that preliminary investigation revealed that the case was a result of a mistaken identity, with the accused, Katta, who has faced extortion threats from gangsters in the recent past, following the car occupied by Gursewak Singh and his friends and firing at it.
“Preliminary investigation suggests that Manjit Singh alias Katta allegedly followed the victims’ vehicle along with other persons and opened fire at their car in the main market of Khemkaran,” a police officer in Tarn Taran said. “He was reportedly facing threats from various gangsters. The circumstances surrounding the incident and the motive behind the firing are being investigated. Prima facie, it appears to be a case of mistaken identity.”
Senior Superintendent of Police Surendra Lamba said that the entire sequence of events is being examined .
Superintendent of Police (Headquarters) Sukhninder Singh, however, denied any gangster or extortion angle in the killing. The Tarn Taran Police have registered a case under sections related to murder and attempt to murder as well as provisions of the Arms Act, and arrested Katta.
(Edited by Nardeep Singh Dahiya)
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