Kabaddi player’s murder case: Suspect gunned down in encounter, 2 cops wounded

MOHALI: An accused in the murder of kabaddi promoter Digvijay Singh alias Rana Balachauria was gunned down by police in Derabassi near Chandigarh on Wednesday afternoon. Two policemen were injured in the gunfight, one critically, while the other cop was saved by his bulletproof jacket.

The gunfight was preceded by arrest of alleged mastermind Aishdeep Singh at IGI airport, when he was trying to flee to Muscat. The two main shooters — Aditya Kapur alias Makhan and Karan Pathak alias Defaulter Karan — are still at large. The slain suspect was identified as Harpinder Singh alias Middhi, a resident of Tarn Taran, who had accompanied the two hitmen to the kabaddi tournament where they lured Rana close on the pretext of clicking selfies and shot him dead Monday. The trail that led to Middhi started with the arrest of a suspect named Yugraj with the help of Amritsar Rural police, said Mohali SSP Harmandeep Singh Hans.

Chd murderer fired at police when they tried to arrest him

Suspect Yugraj’s interrogation sent cops in pursuit of Aishdeep, who was booked on a flight to Muscat. He was nabbed in the nick of time by Mohali police Tuesday night and spilled the beans on location of Middhi, who was later shot in the encounter.




Wednesday morning, a team led by Dera Bassi DSP Bikram Brar and SHO Sumit Mor intercepted Midhi in Lehli village of Derabassi on Ambala-Lalru Highway, around 30km from Chandigarh. Hans said Midhi fired at police when they tried to arrest him. “Police teams surrounded the accused from three sides but he fired 8-10 rounds from a Turkish-made Zigana pistol. Police retaliated in self-defence,” the SSP said.

In the exchange, head constable Kumar Sharma was shot in the leg while a gunshot aimed at head constable Gulab Singh’s chest was stopped by his bulletproof jacket. But the blunt force of the bullet left him injured.

Midhi sustained bullet injuries to his legs and abdomen. All three were taken to hospital, where Midhi died during treatment. The cops are under treatment.

According to police, Midhi not only accompanied the two contract shooters during Rana’s murder but also provided them logistical support. He was supposed to escape with Aishdeep but couldn’t break out of the police dragnet, said sources.

SSP Hans said Aishdeep was in direct contact with gangster Doni Bal and other gang members — especially Jodha, who is based in Italy, and Gurlal, who operates from the US.

Aishdeep, who is wanted in multiple cases by Tarn Taran and Amritsar police, had earlier fled to Russia and returned to India on Nov 25 to execute Rana’s murder, said police. After planning the hit, Aishdeep booked the ticket for Muscat on Dec 14. Rana was killed the next evening and Aishdeep fled to Delhi but Mohali police got wind of his plans and intercepted him at IGI airport.