The family of Mani, a young wrestler who was shot dead in Kapurthala, staged a protest at Fawara Chowk this afternoon, demanding the immediate arrest of the accused. Although the police have registered an FIR against eight persons on the statement of the deceased’s father, no arrest has been made to date.
The protesting family has declared that it will not perform Mani’s last rites until the accused are apprehended. Besides demanding prompt arrests, the family has also looked for an administration job for one of its members as compensation.
MLA Rana Gurjeet Singh, BJP leaders and representatives of several political parties visited the protest site and extended their support to the bereaved family.
According to the complaint filed with the police, Bagga, a resident of Mohalla Mehtabgarh, stated that on November 9 approximately 7.30 pm, he was sitting on the rooftop of his house with his brother Pal Singh and nephew Manpreet. His son Mani, who was a wrestler, was bursting firecrackers.
The complainant alleged that shortly afterwards, Kamal and Akash, both sons of Dhanju and residents of Mehtabgarh, reached the spot together with their associates, carrying pistols and other deadly weapons. Kamalpreet, son of Jaspal, fired a shot from his pistol that hit Mani in the chest. Mani dropped on the ground.
With the assistance of family members and neighbours, the critically hurt Mani was rushed to the Civil Hospital, Kapurthala, where the attending doctor declared him dead.
The police have registered a case against eight accused recognised as Kamal and Akash, both sons of Dhanju; Kamalpreet Singh and Manpreet Singh, both sons of Jaspal; Deepa, son of Prem Bhagat; Pawa, son of Sandy; Sagar; and Dhol, son of Kashmiri on the basis of the complaint.
City Police Station SHO Ranjit Singh remarked no accused had been apprehended thus far. He added that police teams were conducting continuous raids to apprehend the accused and assured the family that they would be arrested shortly.
At the same time, the family has maintained that they will not perform the last rites until the accused are detained and the family demands are addressed.
